GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Detailed explanation-1: -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.

Detailed explanation-2: -Unlike the slaves in Athens, helots had families and communities of their own, and they were no private property. Therefore, Pausanias calls them “slaves of the commonwealth". Strabo of Amasia says they were “some sort of public slaves", and other authors say they were a category between slaves and free people.

Detailed explanation-3: -Spartans: Masters of the Helots When the Spartans conquered a territory, the citizens were forced to become slaves. For example, the Spartans conquered a land called Messenia, which was a rich agricultural region west of Laconia. The citizens of Messenia worked on their own fields, but they were slaves of the Spartans.