Legislators: Lycurgus, Chilon, Epitadeus, Agis IV, Cleomenes III
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List of Kings of Sparta (Agiads, Eurypontids)
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The helots (/ˈhɛləts,ˈhiːləts/; Greek: εἵλωτες, heílotes) were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristics, such as whether they constituted an Ancient Greek tribe, a social class, or both. For example, Critias described helots as "slaves to the utmost",[1] whereas according to Pollux, they occupied a status "between free men and slaves".[2] Tied to the land, they primarily worked in agriculture as a majority and economically supported the Spartan citizens.
The proportion of helots in relation to Spartan citizens varied throughout the history of the Spartan state; according to Herodotus, there were seven helots for each of the 5,000 Spartan soldiers at the time of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.[3] Thus the need to keep the helot population in check and to prevent rebellion were major concerns of the Spartans. Helots were ritually mistreated and humiliated. Every autumn the Spartan polis declared war on the helots, allowing them to be killed and abused by members of the Crypteia without fear of religious repercussion.[4][5][6]
Uprisings and attempts to improve the lot of the helots did occur, such as the conspiracy of Cinadon of 399 BC. Plato on the other hand does not mention the killings by the Crypteia at all in Laws.[7][8]
^Apud Libanios, Orationes 25, 63 = Frag. 37 DK; see also Plutarch, Li hi Lycurgus 28, 11.
^Pollux 3, 83. The expression probably originates in Aristophanes of Byzantium; Cartledge, p.139.
^Herodotus. Histories 9.10.
^Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus, 28, 3–7.
^Herakleides Lembos Fr. Hist. Gr. 2, 210.
^Athenaeus, 657 D.
^Dodd, David (2013). "Adolescent Initiation in Myth and Tragedy: Rethinking the Black Hunter". Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives. Routledge. pp. 71–84. ISBN 978-1-135-14365-7. Vidal-Naquet does acknowledge that the primary function of the krypteia was to terrorize Helots [...].
^Vidal-Naquet, Pierre (1981). Le chasseur noir : formes de penseé et formes de société dans le monde grec. Paris: F. Maspero. ISBN 2-7071-1195-3. OCLC 7658419.
proportion of helots in relation to Spartan citizens varied throughout the history of the Spartan state; according to Herodotus, there were seven helots for each...
even more dangerously by helots. The other classes were the perioikoi, free inhabitants who were non-citizens, and the helots, state-owned serfs. Descendants...
any helots who they came across. That suggests that helots may have had to comply with curfew laws put into place by the Spartans. Troublesome helots could...
most numerous class was the Helots, state-owned serfs enslaved to farm the Spartiate klēros. By the 5th century BC, the helots, too, were used as light troops...
switch sides and support the helots; the offended Athenians repudiated their alliance with Sparta. When the rebellious helots were finally forced to surrender...
population group of non-citizen inhabitants. The Perioeci were free, unlike the helots, but were not full Spartan citizens. They had a central role in the Spartan...
had lost their social rank. The lowest caste in Spartan society were the helots, subjected populations tied to the land and over whom the Spartan state...
Microcotyle helotes is a species of monogenean, parasitic on the gills of a marine fish. It belongs to the family Microcotylidae. Microcotyle helotes was described...
Pseudophaloe helotes is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Herbert Druce in 1884. It is found in Panama. Savela, Markku (July 5, 2019)...
perioeci owned helots, which means that the main division in the Spartan society was between Spartan citizens and perioeci on one side, and helots on the other...
also held power over the Helots and the Perioeci. They controlled the Crypteia, the secret police who repressed the Helots, and they were even able to...
to political functions. Sparta had a special type of slaves called helots. Helots were Messenians enslaved en masse during the Messenian Wars by the state...
to meet Xerxes' army at Thermopylae with a small force of 1,200 men (900 helots and 300 Spartan hoplites), where he was joined by forces from other Greek...
family. He would also receive a kleros, an allotment of land farmed by helots. According to Plutarch, the main purpose of the agōgē was for Spartan boys...
supposing (without proof) that there were 900 helots (three per Spartan) present at the battle. If helots were present at the battle, there is no reason...
Willem Helot (27 October 1675 – 7 November 1749), was secunde and Acting Governor of the Cape Colony. Helot arrived at the Cape as a soldier in 1694 and...
functioned within three classes: homoioi or spartiates, perioeci, and the helots. The helots were captives of war and were state-owned slaves of Sparta. They powered...
Cimon persuaded the Athenians to send soldiers to aid Sparta, when the helots (serfs of the Spartans) revolted and fortified Mount Ithome. The Spartans...
Batrisodes venyivi, also known as Helotes mold beetle, is an eyeless beetle in the family Staphylinidae. They are found exclusively in the dark zones...
Classical era Laconian helots had forgotten their national identity, unlike their peers in Messenia—therefore indicating that Laconian helots had been enslaved...
is used both for Spartan helots and for slaves as held elsewhere in the Greek world; later sources distinguish between helots, who were the property of...
Epeunactae (ἐπευνακταί), were a class of citizens in ancient Sparta. They were Helots who either slept with the widows of Spartans when Sparta had manpower shortage...
that this figure is likely an exaggeration. The earthquake gave Spartan helots an opportunity to revolt against their aristocratic rulers, and the Athenians...
The Eastern striped grunter (Helotes sexlineatus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific...
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