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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]
Slavery in the ancient world, from the earliest known recorded evidence in Sumer to the pre-medieval Antiquity Mediterranean cultures, comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war.
Looking at slavery in ancient Greece through the lens of social death offers insight regarding the daily lived experiences of ancient Greek slaves. According to Patterson, "slavery is the permanent, violent domination of natally alienated and generally dishonored persons," and all slaves are socially dead. [13]
Ancient Sparta. The decisive Greek victory at Plataea put an end to the Greco-Persian War along with Persian ambitions to expand into Europe. Even though this war was won by a pan-Greek army, credit was given to Sparta, who besides providing the leading forces at Thermopylae and Plataea, had been the de facto leader of the entire Greek expedition.
Slavery was widespread in the ancient world in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. [7] [8] [4] Slavery became less common throughout Europe during the Early Middle Ages but continued to be practiced in some areas. Both Christians and Muslims captured and enslaved each other during centuries of warfare in the Mediterranean and Europe. [9]
The status of the helots in the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta resembled that of the medieval serfs. By the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire faced a labour shortage. Large Roman landowners increasingly relied on Roman freemen, acting as tenant farmers, instead of slaves to provide labour. [13]
Slave raids were a specific form of banditry that was the primary method employed by the ancient Greeks for gathering slaves. In regions such as Thrace and the eastern Aegean , natives, or " barbarians ", captured in these raids were the main source of slaves , rather than prisoners of war .
Messenia, homeland of Sparta's helot population, from Mount Ithome.. The Crypteia, also referred to as Krypteia or Krupteia (Greek: κρυπτεία krupteía from κρυπτός kruptós, "hidden, secret"; members were κρύπται kryptai), was an ancient Spartan state institution.