Combining the best features of traditional and modern methods, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, 2/e, provides a unique course of instruction that allows students to read connected Greek narrative right from the beginning and guides them to the point where they can begin reading complete classical texts. Carefully designed to hold students' interest, the course begins in Book I with a fictional narrative about an Attic farmer's family placed in a precise historical context (432-431 B.C.). This narrative, interwoven with tales from mythology and the Persian Wars, gradually gives way in Book II to adapted passages from Thucydides, Plato, and Herodotus and ultimately to excerpts of the original Greek of Bacchylides, Thucydides, and Aristophanes' Acharnians. Essays on relevant aspects of ancient Greek culture and history are also provided.

New to the Second Edition:

* Short passages from Classical and New Testament Greek in virtually every chapter

* The opening lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey toward the end of Book II

* New vocabulary and more complete explanations of grammar, including material on accents

* Many new exercises and additional opportunities for students to practice completing charts of verb forms and paradigms of nouns and adjectives

* Updated Teacher's Handbooks for Books I and II containing translations of all stories, readings, and exercises; detailed suggestions for classroom presentation; abundant English derivatives; and additional linguistic information

* Offered for the first time, Student Workbooks for Books I and II that include self-correcting exercises, cumulative vocabulary lists, periodic grammatical reviews, and additional readings