What did the helots do in 460 BC?
The earthquake gave Spartan helots an opportunity to revolt against their aristocratic rulers, and the Athenians were called to their aid. Their immediate dismissal upon arrival is said to have been a key event that lead up to the First Peloponnesian War….464 BC Sparta earthquake.
| Local date | 464 BC |
|---|---|
| Casualties | up to 20,000 |
What were helots in ancient Greece?
The helots were in a sense state slaves, bound to the soil and assigned to individual Spartans to till their holdings; their masters could neither free them nor sell them, and the helots had a limited right to accumulate property, after paying to their masters a fixed proportion of the produce of the holding.
Which Greek group did the Spartans turn into helots?
Spartans were among the ancient world’s greatest fighters who committed their lives to military training. Behind their success was a large population of slaves known as the helots. Helots were Greek slaves from the Laconia and Messenia regions, where Sparta was situated.
Who did helots belong to in Sparta?
In Ancient Sparta, the Helots were a subjugated population of slaves. Formerly warriors, the Helots outnumbered the Spartans considerably. During the time of the Battle of Plataea, which took place in 479 B.C., there were seven Helots for every Spartan.
Why were helots important to Sparta?
The helots’ work helped to make Sparta a wealthy city, and in time they became trusted members of Spartan families. A number of ancient sources mention helots that acted as domestic servants or companions to high-ranking Spartan elites.
Who were helots and what did they do?
The helots were the slaves of the Spartans. Distributed in family groups across the landholdings of Spartan citizens in Laconia and Messenia, helots performed the labour that was the bedrock on which Spartiate leisure and wealth rested.
Why did the Spartans need helots?
The Spartans were a particularly land-hungry warrior society. In 715 B.C.E., the Spartans solved their need for more land by conquering the agriculturally rich region of Messene. The people of Messene were taken hostage as slaves or helots and were used to farm the lands they had once possessed.
How did the helots help the Spartans?
Well, they did everything a respectful Spartan would not. They ploughed fields, grew olives, made wine, took care of homes, constructed buildings, worked as artisans or tradesmen, carried the Spartans weapons into the battle, cleaned their armour, cooked their food, and everything in between.
How many helots were in Sparta?
The total population of helots at that time, including women, is estimated as 170,000–224,000. Since the helot population was not technically chattel, their population was reliant on native birth rates, as opposed to prisoners of war or purchased slaves.
What was the role of the helots?
The helots produced agricultural products for their Spartan masters, but in emergency war situations, they had to serve as light-armed troops. When the slaves delivered their quota of produce to their masters, they could keep the remaining part. This was most of the time half of the crop.
Why were the helots so important to the Spartans?
Why were helots treated so badly in Sparta?
Plutarch also states that Spartans treated the Helots “harshly and cruelly”: they compelled them to drink pure wine (which was considered dangerous—wine usually being diluted with water) “… and to lead them in that condition into their public halls, that the children might see what a sight a drunken man is; they made …
Who were the helots in ancient Sparta?
In Ancient Sparta, the Helots were a subjugated population of slaves. Formerly warriors, the Helots outnumbered the Spartans considerably. During the time of the Battle of Plataea, which took place in 479 B.C., there were seven Helots for every Spartan. Because of this, the Spartans often went…
What is the difference between a Spartan and a helot?
Formerly warriors, the Helots outnumbered the Spartans considerably. During the time of the Battle of Plataea, which took place in 479 B.C., there were seven Helots for every Spartan. Because of this, the Spartans often went through great lengths to make sure that they remained in check.
How long did it take the Spartans to put down the helots?
The Helots seized on the occasion of Sparta’s defeat by Argos at the Battle of Hysiae to launch a revolt. It took the Spartans nearly 20 years to put down the rebellion. “Leonidas at Thermopylae” by Jacques Louis David.
Why didn’t the Spartans send their hoplites abroad to fight?
During the Persian Wars, for instance, the Spartans were not too eager to send their hoplites abroad to fight for the freedom of Greece. This was due to the fear that the Helots would revolt when the Spartan army was fighting away from home. Despite these and other precautions, several revolts by the Helots took place over the centuries.