Battle of Piraeus The Battle of Piraeus was fought in 403 BC between Athenian exiles who had defeated the government of the Thirty Tyrants and occupied Piraeus and a Spartan 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 reunification of Athens and Piraeus , and the reestablishment of democratic government in Athens . 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 ephor s . He was dispatched at the head of an army to resolve the situation . The 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 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 . 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 .