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.

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.

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.

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.

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.