In 411 BCE, the Athenian squadron under Thrasyllus escaped with difficulty from Sestus to Elaeus; and it was here, just before the fatal Battle of Aegospotami (405 BCE), that the 180 Athenian triremes arrived in time to hear that Lysander was master of Lampsacus. A stele dating from the year 340 BCE, at which time Elaeus was governed by Athens, contains an inscription in Ionian script. The stele proclaimed that the Athenians gave certain privileges, such as political rights and ownership of property, to the people of Elaeus, and that the Athenian general Chares was charged with watching over them. Elaeus belonged to the Delian League, and from 375 BCE to the Second Athenian League.