The aim of this paper is to prove the existence of two solutions for a nonlinear elliptic problem involving the ( , )-Laplacian operator. The solutions are obtained by using variational methods and critical points theorems. The positivity of the solutions is shown by applying a generalized version of the strong maximum principle. K E Y W O R D S critical point, Dirichlet problem, multiple solutions, ( , )-Laplacian, semilinear elliptic equation M S C ( 2 0 1 0 ) 35J20, 35J60 1004