Most editions of single books of Thucydides are nearly 100 years old, and concentrate heavily on textual and linguistic matters. This new edition of Book II, the book in which Thucydides’ main narrative of the Peloponnesian war begins, contains an introduction, a Greek text, an English translation, and a commentary which should be useful not only to specialists but also to readers who know little or no Greek. Matters of texts and language are discussed when necessary, but the emphasis is on the war which formed Thucydides’ subject matter, and on the way in which he has chosen to treat the subject.