Battle of the Great Foss

Battle of the Great Foss
Date c. 682 BC? Location Peloponnesus Result Decisive Spartan victory
Belligerents
Messenia Arcadia	Sparta
Commanders and leaders
Aristomenes Androcles Fidas Aristocrates II

The Battle of the Great Foss occurred in 682 BC during the Second Messenian War (685 BC - 668 BC). The word 'foss' indicates a trench. According to ancient historian Pausanias the outcome of the battle was determined by trickery. The Spartans bribed Aristocrates, the king of the Arcadians, to withdraw his men just as the battle was beginning. This resulted in the slaughter of the Messenians.^[1]

References and further reading

1. Montagu, Battles of the Greek and Roman Worlds, 49.

Sources

• Montagu, John Drogo. Battles of the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Chronological Compendium of 667 Battles to 318BC. Mechanicsburg, PA: Greenhill Books, 2000.