THE HELOTS

[swhunter]

The Helots (in Classical Greek Εἵλωτες / Heílôtes) were the serfs of Sparta. They should not be confused with the chattel slaves, who were much less common (or nonexistent) in Sparta. The practice of keeping Helots also occurred in Thessaly, Crete, and Sicily[1].


Helots were elsewhere which we should have them also.

[edit] "Contempt of Helots"

This expression by Jean Ducat expresses another of the great characteristics of Helots among the servile populations of Greek antiquity: they were ritually mistreated. Sources for this are abundant, and detailed.
Myron of Priene, cited by Athenaeus (XIV, 657 D), specifies the humiliations they were subjected to: they had to wear hats of dog skin (κυνῆ / kunễ) as well as sheep hides (διφθέρα / diphthéra) to distinguish themselves from others.[10] The canine symbolism was clear to the Greeks: that of a servile and cowardly animal. Each year, the Helots were ritually flogged, apparently for no other reason than to affirm their servitude; though it seems that only a small group was actually flogged, symbolically representing the whole Helot population.
Plutarch (Life of Lycurgus, 28, 8-10) also indicates that they were forced to drink pure wine (which was considered dangerous - wine usually being cut 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 them to dance low dances, and sing ridiculous songs…" during syssitia (obligatory banquets)[11]. Conversely, it was reported in the same source that the Thebans ordered a group of Helot prisoners to recite the verses of Alcman and Terpander (national poets of Thebes); the Helots refused, on the grounds that it would displease their masters.
What is more, when the Ephors took office, they routinely declared war on the Helots, (Aristotle cited by Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus 28, 7), thereby allowing Spartans to kill them without repercussion. Most of the time, this was done by kryptes, graduates of the difficult agoge who took part in the Crypteia. In 425 BC, 2,000 Helots were also massacred in a carefully staged event. Thucydides (IV, 80, 4) states:

"The Helots were invited by a proclamation to pick out those of their number who claimed to have most distinguished themselves against the enemy, in order that they might receive their freedom; the object being to test them, as it was thought that the first to claim their freedom would be the most high spirited and the most apt to rebel. As many as two thousand were selected accordingly, who crowned themselves and went round the temples, rejoicing in their new freedom. The Spartans, however, soon afterwards did away with them, and no one ever knew how each of them perished." [9]

Myron of Priene also indicates that Helots who became too fat were put to death, with their masters fined for letting them get fat. The obligation of masters to prevent fatness amongst their Helots appears somewhat incongruous: as the Homoioi lived separately, how could dietary intake be rigorously controlled? Additionally, as manual labour was an important function of the Helots (for example, being used to carry their master's arms and armour on campaign), it would make sense to keep the Helots well nourished. From Thucydides (IV, 6, 1) we know of the rations afforded by the Spartans to their besieged hoplites on Sphacteria: two khoinikes of barley flour, two kotyloi of wine and an unquantified portion of meat. The Helots were on half-rations. An Attic koinix is 698 gr. which, according to calculations[12], was far from miserable: it corresponds to 81% of daily nutritional needs for a moderately active man, according to FAO standards. Complemented with the wine and meat, it can be considered as close to normal, given that the fighting had subsided and that the said Helots were only attending to their domestic duties[13]. Last but not least, the very penalty exacted for letting the Helots get fat implies Helots could get fat[14].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helots

http://alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/BLP/we...age/helots.htm

More on helots..

The Spartans created an elite secret police known as the Krypteria. The Krypteria were responsible for keeping the Helots under control. We are told by Aristotle that every year the Spartan Ephors declared war on the Helots and sporadically launched campaigns of terror and violence against them.

Also another building DVK ! The Krypteria for happiness control.

http://books.google.com/books?id=HqU...#PRA5-PT483,M1

Explains them very good detail and what they wore.

If we change these helots
1. make in animal skins according to research.
2.backs clearly seen and put wip marks on back as slaves.
3.They were lightly armed troops for saprtans.

[Keravnos]

Oh the K-GB part of Sparta.
Thanks for posting this, Swhunter.
All in all, even if there is certainly some hype in some of the above, it was one of the worst fates alive to be a Helot.

Let us start a discussion on the Helots.
Public criticism is the only way to keep something good from becoming something rotten. Fire away.

[Mulattothrasher]

Spartan history is not my strong point, I admit, thus my sparse posts in the Spartan thread.

However, I side with cherry's overall stance. I am so sick and *tired* of brown clad armies consistently representing commoner/peasant/slave armies.

Was fabric back then a brownish color by default, or, how did brown become so prevalent as the fabric of poor people? :hmmm:

Using skins is awesome and I support animal skins over brown clad armies any day. However, what animals around Greece would a helot hunt that did not have brownish fur?

If we keep the brownish color for the helots because its turns out it is hands down historically accurate, which I support 100%, maybe some dark colored lines could be added vertically so as to break up the color scheme? I don't know, just throwing out an idea there.

With the dog skins and sheep that they wore as servitude, lets pretend no brown dogs or sheep existed in Sparta back then hehe.

[swhunter]

It is simple.
1. Make some sort of hats or coverings ( skins with fur from short haired
dogs, please no tails! lolol or heads!
2. sheep hides ( since my family raised sheep in a Illinois farm).
It could be lightly colored browniest skin or grayish color.
Which can be dyed. What could be the dye colors?
Not RED, or blue,( from birds, duck dung, poop ) or green, but maybe i lite tan color? white sh tan ?
Not to make them like cave men. But some type of texture would show that they are helots.
That's what the Spartans wanted.

Also our sheep had at times different colors of brown, black, and lite tans on them.
maybe not even at length of a helots cloth, but kinda rags? or hanging down on him exposing right breast and back
with old scars,

[Keravnos]

For our helots,

1. Hats, felt pilos which was normally worn under the helmet, and from which the "other" pilos originated
_EDIT_//// No hat can be placed on the model.











-----
Spolas/thoromachos, a subarmalis that was either made of felt or sheepskin.


How about the spolas for the helots?

[swhunter]

nice...

[cherryfunk]

Could we use a different model that has a simple helmet or cap?

Are those two at the top wearing armor helots?

[Keravnos]

No, the top pic is just to show the felt cap called pilos that would be worn under the helmet to prevent from blunt trauma that the helmet couldn't protect from.

(later on that pilos became a brozen helmet itself, and required itself a felt or leather cap to be worn underneath...itself called pilos...)

[cherryfunk]

So there might have been a Greek comedy duo, called Abbottus and Costellthon, who had a routine called "Where's Your Pilos?"

"Hey Abbottus, you forgot your pilos."
"No I didn't, I have it right here."
"No, that's your pilos, where's your pilos?"
"Right here!"
"But that's your pilos, where's your pilos?"
"Whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo!"

[Keravnos]

So there might have been a Greek comedy duo, called Abbottus and Costellthon, who had a routine called "Where's Your Pilos?"

"Hey Abbottus, you forgot your pilos."
"No I didn't, I have it right here."
"No, that's your pilos, where's your pilos?"
"Right here!"
"But that's your pilos, where's your pilos?"
"Whooo-whooo-whooo-whooo!"

If you don't mind I will save that pic for future reference. And indeed it could very well go somewhat like this.

This is the reason why most refer to pilos helmets as pilos-shaped helmets. To get around this little landmine in speach.

[swhunter]

lolol