In Spartan society, the helots were the indigenous people of the lands of Laconia and Messenia. When these lands were conquered by the Spartans, the former Laconians and Messenians were put to work on the land they once called their own. The term ‘helot’ can mean ‘prisoner-of-war’ which is essentially what the helots were, except that once the war was over they were still the prisoners of their class. The helots had many roles, including economic, social, political and military. They were exploited and abused in order for the Spartans to maintain control over their ‘slaves’.

There is much debate over the actual position of helots in Spartan society. While it is clear that they were neither citizens nor perioikoi, it is unclear whether they were in fact slaves, or if they were serfs. Contrary to Athenian servants, the helots were not ‘chattel slaves’, that is they were not bought and owned by individuals; they were publicly owned and assigned to individual Spartan masters but could not be bought or sold. Pollux defines the helots as “between free and slaves (douloi)” however, most non-Spartan evidence contradicts this statement when the writers describe the

Despite the fact that the helots performed almost all the productive labour in Spartan society and essentially earned their masters their place in the common messes, these people were treated like slaves; dehumanised and murdered for the sake of control. Without the helots, the Spartan military would have been neither as plentiful, nor as successful as they were, and yet these indigenous people were forced to work and pay ‘rent’ on the land that was rightfully theirs. The role of helots in Spartan society was enormous and without their contributions, Sparta would have probably been the same as all the other forgotten ancient Greek city-states.

The sheer number of the helots in relation to the Spartan citizens means that by using the helots in battle, the Spartans could ensure a large army regardless of the actual size of their citizen troops. Sparta was the only city-state that included slaves in their army; the helots served as light-armed troops supporting the Spartan hoplites. According to Herodotus, the helots often consisted more of the army than the Spartans did; “in 479 each Spartiate who fought at Plataia was accompanied by seven helots.” However, regardless of the trust implied in having helots in the army with citizens, Spartiates did not have complete confidence in their helot counterparts and as such relied on cruel and abusive treatment to enforce the ‘bosses’ of the society. Xenophon quotes, “they kept the slaves away from the arms-dump (in camp)”, which confirms the above statement, as does the following from Kritias; “through distrust of these helots a Spartiate at home removes the arm-band from his shield. Since the frequent need for speed prevents him taking this precaution in campaign, he always carries his spear with him in the belief that he will be stronger than the helot who carries the shield alone.” While helot involvement in the military was essential to the numbers of the Spartan armies, the citizens distrusted them and made precautions against helot rebellion while on campaign.

While the helots had a greater degree of freedom and more privileges than other Greek slaves, they were still mistreated and abused in order for the Spartan citizens to maintain control. The helots were the exploited class of Spartans; they were dehumanised, forced to work and ridiculed. According to Myron, the Spartans “ordain

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