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The battle of Laodocium in 423 or 422 was a clash between two
Peloponnesian cities, fought during a brief armistice between Athens and Sparta
(Great Peloponnesian War). The battle was fought between the armies of Tegea,
in the centre of the Peloponnese, and Mantinea, in the north-east of the
Peloponnese. In the wider conflict Tegea was an ally of Sparta, while Mantinea
had fought alongside Sparta earlier in the war, but then sided with Athens. The
battle was fought at Laodocium, in the territory of Orestheum. This was close
to the site of the city of Megalopolis, founded in 371 as a counter-weight to
Sparta, and located to the south-west of both Tegea and Mantinea. Thucydides
describes it as happening in the winter of the ninth year of the war, placing
it in the winter of 423-2. The battle itself was inconclusive. Each army was
victorious on one wing and defeated on the other, and both sides erected a
trophy to celebrate their victory. The Tegeans remained on the battlefield
overnight, suggesting that they had had the best of the fighting, while the
Mantineans retreated to Bucolion before erecting their trophy. Both sides
suffered heavy losses during the fighting.
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