Ancient Greek Intrigue and Helot: Exploring the Secrets of Sparta under Slavery
Sparta contains the classic model of oligarchy. It was characterized by the assembly of all Spartan men (peers) who owned estates toiled by black laborers, underwent a rigorous military training system, and contributed to the canteen and participated in communal meals. From the age of 7 to the age of 60, full-time compulsory military service was introduced, making the Spartan army a famous army combat unit in classical Greece.
In contrast to Athens, the powers of the parliament were severely limited. The two kings ruled at the same time, performed military and religious duties, and shared power with the Council of Presbyterians (tenured men over the age of 60), who set the policy agenda and could override the decisions of the council. The Council of Five Governors, appointed each year, had broad executive and judicial powers to oversee the king.
Regarding the origin of the Helo people, Sparta did not import slaves, but retained a conquered, self-propagating, sharecropper-like indigenous population, known as the Helots. Early in its history, Sparta forced the indigenous people of Laconia, which owned the fertile land around it, into slavery.
The rank of the Spartans was lower than that of the citizens of Sparta, but higher than that of the Helots, who occupied marginal lands and engaged in handicrafts. They are obliged to perform military service, but do not have full civil rights. After a protracted military campaign from 740 to 720, Sparta conquered Messenia, west of Laconia, forcing its people to become serfs.
The Messenians revolted, but were defeated in the so-called Second Messenian War in 650-630. Sparta had the most fertile land and captured labor force in the region. The land of Messinia was divided into estates cultivated by the conquerors for the use of the conquerors.
According to the poet Tilteus, the Shiloh "were like donkeys crushed by a heavy burden, bringing for their masters half of the produce of their land." Spartan rule over the Messenia Helot lasted more than three centuries.
About its legal status. The helots are privately owned, but due to the various restrictions imposed, ownership exhibits some communal characteristics. The masters were not allowed to sell their helots outside the borders of Sparta, and this ban, in addition to its ideological and political purpose, ensured the availability of labor to work on the estate.
Helots could also be requisitioned by Spartans other than their masters without their master's permission, beaten by someone other than their master, recruited as soldiers, and released only by state, not private acts. The released Hilo do not enjoy full civil rights.
Helots formed his own family, maintained kinship, and was able to own some personal belongings. Although they could not move freely, "there is no evidence that the Helots were 'bound to the land' like serfs" and that the Helots of Messenia lived in their own communities, while the Helots of Laconia lived in small groups in Spartan estates.
The distinguishing feature of the helots is agricultural labor. They cultivate the land, grow food, and provide a percentage of the output. Their Spartan owners lived in Sparta instead of their estates. The masters of Sparta used the income to pay for the food in the canteen, and were freed from work to devote their time to hunting, military training, and civic affairs. The helots also accompanied the Spartans in military operations as lightly armed auxiliaries.
The Spartans were always worried that the larger number of Helots would start a rebellion. In order to prevent this from happening, they devoted themselves to military service and implemented strict surveillance and strict control mechanisms, so that their treatment of the black laborers "became synonymous with the cruelty of antiquity". Sparta declared war on the Helots every year so that their killers would not cause religious contamination.
The declaration of war perpetuated the idea that Sparta ruled slaves through military conquest. Severe and cruel punishments such as flogging are not uncommon. Helots was also subjected to humiliating treatment, such as being forced to drink unmixed wine (the Greeks diluted it with water) in order to make the young Spartans remember that it was inappropriate to drink heavily;
They were also forced to mourn the death of their masters, while in other places, slaves played the same role. Part of the Young Spartans' training consisted of forming a team of "Krypton" and killing all the Blacklots they captured under the cover of night, while also targeting the strong, muscular BlackOnes.
The Spartans promised to release the helots, who had distinguished themselves in the Spartan war. They considered those who came forward to be "the most combative and most likely to rebel against their masters", and they selected 2,000 people in an "extremely brutal" manner and slaughtered them.
Although the Spartan helots are the most famous example of chattel slavery in Greece, they are not unique. In antiquity, several other Greek city-states also acquired serf-like Greek populations through conquest, such as the Penestes of Thessaly, the Voyians of Crete, and the "naked people" of Argos.
Greek colonists in Syracuse, Byzantium, Black Sea Heraclea and Cyrene also relegated the indigenous "barbarian" population to serf-like status, although after the revolt and the loss of conquered territories, the surviving laborers gained the right to vote.
