The Battle of Piraeus was fought in 403 BC between

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

exiles who had defeated the government of the

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants (, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were an oligarchy that briefly ruled Classical Athens, Athens from 404 BC, 404 BCE to 403 BC, 403 BCE. Installed into power by the Sparta, Spartans after the Athenian surrender in the Peloponnesian ...

and occupied

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

and a

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

n force sent to combat them. In the battle, the Spartans narrowly defeated the exiles, with both sides suffering appreciable casualties. After the battle, Pausanias arranged a settlement between the two parties which allowed the reestablishment of

democratic government Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in Athens.

Prelude

In late 404 BC, a small force of Athenian exiles under the command of

Thrasybulus Thrasybulus (; ; 440 – 388 BC) was an Athenian general and democratic leader. In 411 BC, in the wake of an oligarchic coup at Athens, the pro-democracy sailors at Samos elected him as a general, making him a primary leader of the ultimat ...

entered

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

and seized the border strong point of

Phyle ''Phyle'' (, ; pl. ''phylai'', ; derived from Greek , ''phyesthai'' ) is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphyletai'' () meaning 'fellow tribesmen'. During the late 6th century BC, Cleist ...

. These exiles were seeking to dislodge the repressive oligarchic government of the

. 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 Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

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 Lysander (; ; 454 BC – 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played ...

, 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

ephor The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

s. He was dispatched at the head of an army to resolve the situation.

Battle

Upon Pausanias's arrival in Attica, he ordered the men in Piraeus to disperse; when they refused to do so, he drew his men up to attack them, but did not actually engage them. The next day, however, a party of Athenian light troops attacked the Spartans while they were reconnoitering near Piraeus. Pausanias dispatched his cavalry and his youngest infantrymen to attack them, while he with the rest of the infantry followed in support. In pursuit, the Spartan cavalry and advance infantry entered Piraeus, where they encountered a large body of light troops, and were driven back with losses. Thrasybulus then came out with his

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...

force to press the issue; the Spartan hoplites engaged them, and, after a time, defeated them, inflicting 150 casualties. The men from Piraeus returned to the city, while Pausanias and his men returned to their camp. The war was over.

Aftermath

After winning this victory, Pausanias, instead of pressing his advantage, sought to effect a reconciliation between the two Athenian parties. Accordingly, he persuaded both the men from Piraeus and the government in Athens to send emissaries to Sparta. These returned along with 15 officials empowered to work with Pausanias to negotiate a settlement to the issue. Pausanias then persuaded the Athenians to settle their disagreement on the terms of all being permitted to return to their homes except for the Thirty and their most prominent collaborators, while all who feared for their safety were free to remove to Eleusis. Democracy was reestablished, and all but the most egregious offenders were pardoned. Eleusis remained independent for a time, but, when it was revealed that the Thirty were gathering a mercenary army there, a preventive strike was launched and the town was reabsorbed into the Athenian state.Xenophon, ''Hellenica'' 2.4.35-43

Notes

References

*Buck, Robert J., ''Thrasybulus and the Athenian Democracy: the life of an Athenian statesman''. (Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998) *Fine, John V.A. ''The Ancient Greeks: A critical history'' (Harvard University Press, 1983) *Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spawforth ed., ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (Oxford University Press, 2003) * {{coord missing, Greece 403 BC 400s BC conflicts Piraeus (403 BC) Piraeus (403 BC) Piraeus (403 BC) History of Piraeus