Battle of Piraeus - Prelude

Prelude

In late 404 BC, a small force of Athenian exiles under the command of Thrasybulus entered Attica and seized the border strong point of Phyle. These exiles were seeking to dislodge the repressive oligarchic government of the Thirty Tyrants. In two battles, they defeated the forces of that government; after the second battle, the Thirty were deposed and replaced by a more moderate government, the Ten. These new rulers, although they ended the brutality that had marked the reign of the Thirty, were not ready to compromise with the exiles, who now held Piraeus, the port of Athens. Desultory skirmishing between the two sides continued during this stalemate, with the Athenian cavalry attacking foragers from Piraeus; meanwhile, the men in Piraeus began to make attacks on the walls of Athens.

Accordingly, both the Thirty at Eleusis and the Ten at Athens sent emissaries to Sparta, requesting assistance against the men in Piraeus. At this point, Spartan internal politics took a vital role in determining the future of Athens. Upon the arrival of the envoys, Lysander, who supported an aggressive foreign policy, and who had installed the Thirty in power in the first place, set out to Eleusis, where he began raising an army. After he left, however, the king Pausanias, who wished to pursue a more defensive foreign policy, succeeded in winning the support of three of the five ephors. He was dispatched at the head of an army to resolve the situation.