The Battle of Pandosia was fought in 331 BC between a Greek force led by Alexander I of Epirus against the Lucanians and Bruttians, two southern Italic tribes.
The Italic army soundly defeated the invading Greeks and killed Alexander I of Epirus during the battle.
Ancient historians also allege that Alexander was warned by the oracle of Zeus at Dodona that he should beware of the river Acheron and the city Pandosia.
Michael P. Fronda argues the mention of an alliance with Metapontum is curious and implies conquest rather than liberation from the Messapians.
Tarentum probably would have welcomed the seizure of Metapontum and Heraclea initially because it gave them an opportunity to extend their dominion over those two cities.
[9] The Lucanian exiles sent messengers to their countrymen and promised that they would turn over Alexander, dead or alive, on the condition that they would be restored to their property.
Alexander managed to break out of the siege with a small group, killing the Lucanian general in the process.
When he heard the river was called the Acheron (possibly a small tributary of the Neaethus) he remembered the warning of the oracle.
An anonymous woman persuaded them to stop because she hoped to exchange the body of the king for the return of her husband and children, who were sent to Epirus as hostages.
Until the end of the Roman Empire, gladiator shows featured a style of fighter bearing the distinctive Southern Italian battle gear.
[citation needed] Lastly, the battle is generally credited as the one which showed the Romans how to defeat Greek armies.