The Phyle Campaign was the civil war that resulted from the

Spartan Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

imposition of a narrow oligarchy on

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

(see

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants ( grc, οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elec ...

) and resulted in the restoration of

Athenian democracy Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. Although Athens is the most famous ancient Greek democratic city- ...

Prelude

The Thirty were short of funds and this led them to persecute wealthy Athenians of whatever political views. Many fled to Boeotia and

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

who offered asylum in defiance of Sparta.

The campaign

The Thirty Tyrants had left Athens' border forts ungarrisoned, both out of deference to Sparta and because of their cash shortage. This allowed a group of Athenian exiles to seize the fort of Phyle in 404/403 BCE. The leader of the exiles, initially only some 70 strong, was

Thrasybulus Thrasybulus (; grc-gre, Θρασύβουλος ; 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 ...

who had a reputation as a moderate democrat, and thus was ideal to unite all democratic opponents of the Thirty. A force of Athenian cavalry and Spartans was sent against Phyle, but was defeated in two surprise attacks by Thrasybulus at the

Battle of Phyle The Battle of Phyle was fought between Athenian exiles who were seeking to restore democracy to Athens and a Spartan garrison trying to protect the oligarchic Thirty Tyrants. In the battle, 700 Athenian exiles under Thrasybulus decisively defe ...

. Thrasybulus then marched on Piraeus and defeated the force the Thirty sent against him at the

Battle of Munychia The Battle of Munychia was fought between Athenians exiled by the oligarchic government of the Thirty Tyrants and the forces of that government, supported by a Spartan garrison. In the battle, a substantially superior force composed of the Sparta ...

. Sparta first responded by sending

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 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 en ...

with a force of mercenaries who clearly intended simply to restore the Thirty to power. Very quickly, however, Sparta sent King Pausanias with a levy of the

Peloponnesian League The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC ...

. Pausanias defeated the democrats in the

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 b ...

. However he opened negotiations and accepted the restoration of democracy, nevertheless insisting on the separation of Eleusis as a safe haven for the oligarchs.

Aftermath

Lysander's faction at Sparta was furious and along with King Agis brought Pausanias to trial to the end of 403 BCE. The exact charge is uncertain but the essence was presumably that he had been soft on Athens. Fifteen of the

Gerousia The Gerousia (γερουσία) was the council of elders in ancient Sparta. Sometimes called Spartan senate in the literature, it was made up of the two Spartan kings, plus 28 men over the age of sixty, known as gerontes. The Gerousia was a pr ...

, including Agis, voted guilty and 14 against but all 5

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 ''ép ...

s voted non guilty so he was acquitted.

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Ancient Greek Wars, state=autocollapse 400s BC conflicts Civil wars of antiquity Wars involving Athens Wars involving Sparta 404 BC 403 BC