Misplaced Pages

#154845

108-585: The proportion of helots in relation to Spartan citizens varied throughout the history of the Spartan state; according to Herodotus , there were seven helots for each of the 5,000 Spartan soldiers at the time of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. Thus the need to keep the helot population in check and to prevent rebellion were major concerns of the Spartans. Helots were ritually mistreated and humiliated. Every autumn

216-444: A Persian subject, and it may be that the young Herodotus heard local eyewitness accounts of events within the empire and of Persian preparations for the invasion of Greece , including the movements of the local fleet under the command of Artemisia I of Caria . Inscriptions recently discovered at Halicarnassus indicate that Artemesia's grandson Lygdamis negotiated with a local assembly to settle disputes over seized property, which

324-473: A boy living on the island of Samos, to which he had fled with his family from the oppressions of Lygdamis, tyrant of Halicarnassus and grandson of Artemisia. Panyassis , the epic poet related to Herodotus, is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. The Suda also states that Herodotus later returned home to lead the revolt that eventually overthrew the tyrant. Due to recent discoveries of inscriptions at Halicarnassus dated to about Herodotus's time, it

432-497: A clay oven ( ἰπνός ipnós ) set on legs. Bread wheat , difficult to grow in Mediterranean climates, and the white bread made from it, were associated with the upper classes in the ancient Mediterranean, while the poor ate coarse brown breads made from emmer wheat and barley . A simpler baking method involved placing lighted coals on the floor and covering the heap with a dome-shaped lid ( πνιγεύς pnigeús ); when it

540-537: A considerable sum at the time. Helots lived in family units and could, at least de facto , contract unions among themselves. Since helots were much less susceptible than other slaves in Greek antiquity to having their family units dispersed, they could reproduce themselves, or at least maintain their number. Probably not insignificant to begin with, their population increased in spite of the crypteia , other massacres of helots (see below), and losses in war. Simultaneously,

648-409: A fish sauce similar to Vietnamese nước mắm . In the comedies of Aristophanes, Heracles was portrayed as a glutton with a fondness for mashed beans. Poor families ate oak acorns ( βάλανοι balanoi ). Olives were a common appetizer. In the cities, fresh vegetables were expensive, and therefore, the poorer city dwellers had to make do with dried vegetables . Lentil soup ( φακῆ phakē )

756-559: A gloss of Hesychios of Alexandria which attests that mothakes were slave children ( δοῦλοι / doũloi ) raised at the same time as the children of citizens. Philologists resolve this quandary in two ways: In any case, the conclusion needs to be treated carefully: Herodotus makes multiple accounts of Helots accompanying Spartans as servants and soldiers in battles such as Thermopylae and Plataea , often lightly equipped compared to their hoplite counterparts. In his reports on Plataea, he makes multiple accounts of Helots which accompanied

864-612: A historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view: focused on the context of the polis or city-state. The interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Before the Persian crisis, history had been represented among the Greeks only by local or family traditions. The "Wars of Liberation" had given to Herodotus

972-405: A kind of a cake. Wheat grains were softened by soaking, then either reduced into gruel , or ground into flour ( ἀλείατα aleíata ) and kneaded and formed into loaves ( ἄρτος ártos ) or flatbreads, either plain or mixed with cheese or honey. Leavening was known; the Greeks later used an alkali ( νίτρον nítron ) and wine yeast as leavening agents . Dough loaves were baked at home in

1080-427: A kind of aristocratic club and as a military mess . Like the symposium, the syssitia was the exclusive domain of men – although some references have been found to substantiate all-female syssitia . Unlike the symposium, these meals were hallmarked by simplicity and temperance. First she set for them a fair and well made table that had feet of cyanus; On it there was a vessel of bronze and an onion to give relish to

1188-404: A literary critic of Augustan Rome , listed seven predecessors of Herodotus, describing their works as simple unadorned accounts of their own and other cities and people, Greek or foreign, including popular legends, sometimes melodramatic and naïve, often charming – all traits that can be found in the work of Herodotus himself. Modern historians regard the chronology as uncertain, but according to

SECTION 10

#1732769630155

1296-435: A predetermined portion of their harvest ( ἀποφορά / apophorá ), with the helots keeping the surplus. According to Plutarch, this portion was 70 medimnoi of barley for a man, 12 for a woman, as well as a quantity of oil and wine corresponding to an amount reasonable for the needs of a warrior and his family, or a widow, respectively. The existence of the apophorá is contested by Tyrtaeus : "Secondly, though no fixed tribute

1404-402: A sight a drunken man is; they made them to dance low dances, and sing ridiculous songs..." during syssitia (obligatory banquets). However, he notes that this rough treatment was inflicted only relatively late, after the 464 BC earthquake . Some modern scholars advocate a reevaluation of ancient evidence about helots. It has been argued that the kunē was not actually made of dogskin, and that

1512-469: A sign of weakness. This theoretically removed the strongest and most able potential rebels while keeping the general populace fit and efficient. What is more, the Spartans used helot women to satisfy the state's human personnel needs: the ' bastards ' ( nothoi ) born of Spartan fathers and helot women held an intermediary rank in Lacedaemonian society (cf. mothakes and mothones below) and swelled

1620-464: A slave's condition, they made death the penalty; and they allotted a punishment to those controlling them if they failed. Plutarch also states that Spartans treated the Helots "harshly and cruelly": they compelled them to drink pure wine (which was considered dangerous— wine usually being diluted with water) "... and to lead them in that condition into their public halls, that the children might see what

1728-407: A sort of pancake called τηγανίτης ( tēganítēs ) or ταγηνίας ( tagēnías ), all words deriving from τάγηνον ( tágēnon ), "frying pan". The earliest attested references on tagenias are in the works of the 5th century BCE poets Cratinus and Magnes . Tagenites were made with wheat flour , olive oil, honey and curdled milk, and were served for breakfast. Another kind of pancake

1836-432: A title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero , and the " Father of Lies " by others. The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon , Thermopylae , Artemisium , Salamis , Plataea , and Mycale . His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical , geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of

1944-696: A version of the Histories written by "Herodotus of Thurium", and some passages in the Histories have been interpreted as proof that he wrote about Magna Graecia from personal experience there (IV, 15,99; VI, 127). According to Ptolemaeus Chennus , a late source summarized in the Library of Photius , Plesirrhous the Thessalian, the hymnographer, was the eromenos of Herodotus and his heir. This account has also led some historians to assume Herodotus died childless. Intimate knowledge of some events in

2052-520: A young Thucydides happened to be in the assembly with his father, and burst into tears during the recital. Herodotus observed prophetically to the boy's father: "Your son's soul yearns for knowledge." Eventually, Thucydides and Herodotus became close enough for both to be interred in Thucydides's tomb in Athens. Such at least was the opinion of Marcellinus in his Life of Thucydides . According to

2160-524: Is any doubt in these affirmations, they at least underscore the immediate Spartan reaction: gathering allies and pursuing war with the same Athens that would later be faced in the Peloponnesian War . After all, the rebellion represented an early indication of souring relations between the Athenians and the Spartans. The Spartans spuriously expelled an Athenian army sent to assist in putting down

2268-640: Is consistent with a tyrant under pressure. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League , indicating that there might well have been a successful uprising against him some time before 454 BC. Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect , in spite of being born in a Dorian settlement. According to the Suda , Herodotus learned the Ionian dialect as

SECTION 20

#1732769630155

2376-479: Is fundamentally the history of the class struggle between the Spartans and the Helots". Helots were assigned to citizens to carry out domestic work or to work on their klēroi, or portions. The klēroi were the original divisions of Messenia after its conquest by Sparta. Various sources mention such servants accompanying this or that Spartan. Plutarch has Timaia, the wife of King Agis II , "being herself forward enough to whisper among her helot maid-servants" that

2484-491: Is generally assumed that he died not long afterwards, possibly before his sixtieth year. Herodotus would have made his researches known to the larger world through oral recitations to a public crowd. John Marincola writes in his introduction to the Penguin edition of the Histories that there are certain identifiable pieces in the early books of Herodotus's work which could be labeled as "performance pieces". These portions of

2592-407: Is generally considered a reliable source of ancient history, many present-day historians believe that his accounts are at least partially inaccurate, attributing the observed inconsistencies in the Histories to exaggeration. Several English translations of Herodotus's Histories are available in multiple editions, including: Diet of Ancient Greece#Wine Ancient Greek cuisine

2700-547: Is listed along with wheat in the 3rd century BCE by Theophrastus in his "Enquiry into Plants" Black bread, made from emmer (sometimes called "emmer wheat"), was cheaper (and easier to make) than wheat; it was associated with the lower classes and the poor. Legumes were essential to the Greek diet, and were harvested in the Mediterranean region from prehistoric times: the earliest and most common being lentils - which have been found in archeological sites in Greece dating to

2808-809: Is now known that the Ionic dialect was used in Halicarnassus in some official documents, so there is no need to assume (like the Suda ) that he must have learned the dialect elsewhere. The Suda is the only source placing Herodotus as the heroic liberator of his birthplace, casting doubt upon the veracity of that romantic account. As Herodotus himself reveals, Halicarnassus, though a Dorian city, had ended its close relations with its Dorian neighbours after an unseemly quarrel (I, 144), and it had helped pioneer Greek trade with Egypt (II, 178). It was, therefore, an outward-looking, international-minded port within

2916-609: Is on account of the many strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics have branded him "The Father of Lies". Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement. In fact, one modern scholar has wondered whether Herodotus left his home in Greek Anatolia , migrating westwards to Athens and beyond, because his own countrymen had ridiculed his work, a circumstance possibly hinted at in an epitaph said to have been dedicated to Herodotus at one of his three supposed resting places, Thuria : Herodotus

3024-535: The Alcmaeonids , a clan whose history is featured frequently in his writing. According to Plutarch , Herodotus was granted a financial reward by the Athenian assembly in recognition of his work. Plutarch, using Diyllus as a source, says this was 10 talents . In 443 BC or shortly afterwards, he migrated to Thurii , in modern Calabria , as part of an Athenian-sponsored colony . Aristotle refers to

3132-569: The Byzantine Suda , an 11th-century encyclopedia which possibly took its information from traditional accounts. Still, the challenge is great: The data are so few – they rest upon such late and slight authority; they are so improbable or so contradictory, that to compile them into a biography is like building a house of cards, which the first breath of criticism will blow to the ground. Still, certain points may be approximately fixed ... Herodotus was, according to his own statement, at

3240-491: The Euphrates to Babylon . For some reason, possibly associated with local politics, he subsequently found himself unpopular in Halicarnassus, and sometime around 447 BC, migrated to Periclean Athens  – a city whose people and democratic institutions he openly admired (V, 78). Athens was also the place where he came to know the local topography (VI, 137; VIII, 52–55), as well as leading citizens such as

3348-705: The Peloponnesian War on the abduction of some prostitutes – a mocking reference to Herodotus, who reported the Persians' account of their wars with Greece , beginning with the rapes of the mythical heroines Io , Europa , Medea , and Helen . Similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a story-teller. Thucydides, who had been trained in rhetoric , became the model for subsequent prose-writers as an author who seeks to appear firmly in control of his material, whereas with his frequent digressions Herodotus appeared to minimize (or possibly disguise) his authorial control. Moreover, Thucydides developed

Helots - Misplaced Pages Continue

3456-576: The Persian Empire , and the historian's family could well have had contacts in other countries under Persian rule, facilitating his travels and his researches. Herodotus's eyewitness accounts indicate that he traveled in Egypt in association with Athenians, probably sometime after 454 BC or possibly earlier, after an Athenian fleet had assisted the uprising against Persian rule in 460–454 BC. He probably traveled to Tyre next and then down

3564-581: The Suda , he was buried in Macedonian Pella and in the agora in Thurii. Herodotus announced the purpose and scope of his work at the beginning of his Histories: Here are presented the results of the inquiry carried out by Herodotus of Halicarnassus. The purpose is to prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, and to preserve the fame of the important and remarkable achievements produced by both Greeks and non-Greeks; among

3672-547: The Upper Paleolithic period. As one of the first domesticated crops to be introduced to Greece, lentils are commonly found at regional archaeological sites from the Upper Paleolithic. Lentils and chickpeas are the most frequently mentioned legumes in classical literature. In ancient Greece, fruit and vegetables were a significant part of the diet, as the ancient Greeks consumed much less meat than in

3780-521: The diphthera (literally, "leather") was the general attire of the poor peasant class. The obligation of masters to prevent fatness amongst their helots is actually deemed implausible: as the Spartiates lived separately, dietary intake could not be rigorously controlled; 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 them well fed. Besides,

3888-406: The μόθακες / mothakes , who had undergone the ' agoge' , the Spartan educational system. Classical historiography recognizes that the helots comprised a large portion of these mothakes . Nevertheless, this category poses a number of problems, firstly that of vocabulary. The classical authors used a number of terms which appear to evoke similar concepts: The situation is somewhat complicated by

3996-419: The 4th century BC, only forty Peers, or citizens, could be counted in a crowd of 4,000 at the agora (Xenophon, Hellenica , III, 3, 5). The total population of helots at that time, including women, is estimated as 170,000–224,000. Since the helot population was not technically chattel, their population was reliant on native birth rates, as opposed to prisoners of war or purchased slaves. Helots were encouraged by

4104-526: The 4th century BCE, most tables were round, often with animal-shaped legs (for example lion's paws). Loaves of flat bread were occasionally used as plates; terracotta bowls were more common. Loaves were usually flat, circular and indented into four or more parts, but there are instances which were also made in other forms, such as cubes. Dishes became more refined over time, and by the Roman period plates were sometimes made out of precious metals or glass. Cutlery

4212-497: The Helots as a kind of ideological warfare, designed to condition the Helots to think of themselves as inferiors. This strategy seems to have been successful at least for Laconian Helots: when the Thebans ordered a group of Laconian helot prisoners to recite the verses of Alcman and Terpander (national poets of Thebes), they refused on the grounds that it would displease their masters. Other modern scholars consider then, "although

4320-586: The Helots". Aristotle compares them to "an enemy constantly sitting in wait of the disaster of the Spartans". Consequently, fear seems to be an important factor governing relations between Spartans and Helots. According to tradition, the Spartiates always carried their spears, undid the straps of their bucklers only when at home lest the Helots seize them, and locked themselves in their homes. They also took active measures, subjecting them to what Theopompus describes as "an altogether cruel and bitter condition". According to Myron of Priene, an anti-Spartan historian of

4428-466: The Lacedaemonians had made advertisement for volunteers to carry into the island ground corn, wine, cheese, and any other food useful in a siege; high prices being offered, and freedom promised to any of the helots who should succeed in doing so. Thucydides reports that the request met with some success, and the helots got supplies through to the besieged island. He does not mention whether or not

Helots - Misplaced Pages Continue

4536-565: The Lacedaemonians to arms, simultaneously saves them from the earthquake and the helot attack. The helots fold, but revert to open warfare joined by the Messenians. It is difficult to reconcile these versions. It is nevertheless clear that in any case the revolt of 464 BC represented a major traumatic event for the Spartans. Plutarch indicates that the Crypteia and other poor treatments of the helots were instituted after this revolt. If there

4644-477: The Messenian Wars; for Ephorus of Cyme , they were the perioeci ("dwellers in surrounding communities") from Helos, reduced to slavery after a failed revolt. From at least the classical period, the number of Spartans was very small in comparison to that of the helots. In a celebrated passage, Thucydides stresses that "most Spartan institutions have always been designed with a view to security against

4752-505: The Messenian people becoming a vassal state of Sparta rather than helots. Having paid their tribute, the helots could often live rather well; the lands of Laconia and Messenia were very fertile, and often permitted two crops per year. It seems they could enjoy some private property: in 425 BC, some helots had their own boats. A certain amount of wealth was achievable: in 223 BC, 6,000 helots purchased their freedom for 500 drachmas each,

4860-512: The Spartan polis declared war on the helots, allowing them to be killed and abused by members of the Crypteia without fear of religious repercussion. Uprisings and attempts to improve the lot of the helots did occur, such as the conspiracy of Cinadon of 399 BC. Plato on the other hand does not mention the killings by the Crypteia at all in Laws . Several theories exist regarding the origin of

4968-607: The Spartans kept their word; it is possible that some of the helots later executed were part of the Sphacterian volunteers but later said they kept their word. Another such call came during the Theban invasion of Laconia in one of the decisive battles of Peloponnese wars. Xenophon in Hellenica (VI, 5, 28) states that the authorities agreed to emancipate all the helots who volunteered. He then reports that more than 6,000 heeded

5076-419: The Spartans on the battlefield and made up the mass of the army. In Greek military practice, the standard depth of the army's phalanx was eight men, having known this, Herodotus deducted that there was a soldier ratio of seven Helots to one Spartan at Plataea. Historians have confirmed that Herodotus' accounts of both Helot and Spartan soldiers is exaggerated, it is however confirmed that Helots were present on

5184-451: The Spartans to impose a eugenics doctrine similar to that which they, themselves, practiced. This would, according to Greek beliefs of the period, ensure not only genetic but also acquired favourable characteristics be passed along to successive generations. Tempering these selective factors was the crypteia, during which the strongest and fittest helots were the primary targets of the kryptes ; to select soft targets would be interpreted as

5292-407: The ancient account, these predecessors included Dionysius of Miletus , Charon of Lampsacus, Hellanicus of Lesbos , Xanthus of Lydia and, the best attested of them all, Hecataeus of Miletus . Of these, only fragments of Hecataeus's works survived, and the authenticity of these is debatable, but they provide a glimpse into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories . It

5400-591: The audience. It was conventional in Herodotus's day for authors to "publish" their works by reciting them at popular festivals. According to Lucian , Herodotus took his finished work straight from Anatolia to the Olympic Games and read the entire Histories to the assembled spectators in one sitting, receiving rapturous applause at the end of it. According to a very different account by an ancient grammarian, Herodotus refused to begin reading his work at

5508-524: The average diet: most notably legumes . Research suggests that the agricultural system of ancient Greece could not have succeeded without the cultivation of legumes. Modern knowledge of ancient Greek cuisine and eating habits is derived from textual, archeological, and artistic evidence. In the Homeric epics of the Iliad and Odyssey , three meals are mentioned. Ariston was the early meal, while dorpon

SECTION 50

#1732769630155

5616-572: The baker as an Athenian novelty who sells goods that could be made at home. In ancient Greece, bread was served with accompaniments known as opson ὄψον , sometimes rendered in English as "relish". This was a generic term which referred to anything which accompanied this staple food, whether meat or fish, fruit or vegetable. Cakes may have been consumed for religious reasons as well as secular. Philoxenus of Cythera describes in detail some cakes that were eaten as part of an elaborate dinner using

5724-463: The battlefield due to Herodotus alluding to a grave which was constructed for the Helots. Helots may have also had other roles at Plataea besides forming the ranks in battle, some historians believe that Helots were also designated with guarding supply lines for the armies. The first helot attempt at revolt which is historically reported is that provoked by general Pausanias in the 5th century BC. Thucydides reports: Besides, they were informed that he

5832-458: The beginning of his work, a native of Halicarnassus in Anatolia , and it is generally accepted that he was born there around 485 BC. The Suda says his family was influential, that he was the son of Lyxes and Dryo and the brother of Theodorus, and that he was also related to Panyassis – an epic poet of the time. Halicarnassus was then within the Persian Empire , making Herodotus

5940-508: The call, leading to some embarrassment for the Spartans, who were initially overwhelmed by the number. Xenophon states that the Spartans' fears were assuaged when they received aid from their allies and Boeotian mercenary forces. All the same, in 424 BC, the 700 helots who served Brasidas in Chalcidice were emancipated, and they were henceforth known as the "Brasidians". It was also possible to purchase freedom, or achieve it by undergoing

6048-507: The child she was expecting had been fathered by Alcibiades , and not her husband, indicating a certain level of trust. According to some authors, in the 4th century BC, citizens also used chattel -slaves for domestic purposes. However, this is disputed by others. Some helots were also servants to young Spartans during their agoge , the Spartan education; these were the μόθωνες / móthōnes (see below). Finally, helots, like slaves, could be artisans or tradesmen. They were required to hand over

6156-415: The details may be fanciful, [Myron's evidence] does reflect accurately the general Spartiate attitude towards helots". It has also been proposed that contempt alone could hardly explain the organized murder of Helots mentioned by several ancient sources. According to Aristotle, the ephors annually declared war on the Helots, thereby allowing Spartans to kill them without fear of religious pollution. This task

6264-674: The drink, with honey and cakes of barley meal. Cereals formed the staple diet. The two main grains were wheat ( σῖτος sītos ) and barley ( κριθή krithē ). When Greece was conquered by Rome during the 3rd century B.C., commercial bakeries were well known and spread. In fact Pliny the Elder suggests that the production of bread moved from the family to the "industrial" thanks to the work of skilled artisans (according to Pliny, starting from 171 BCE). Plato favored home production over commercial production and in Gorgias , described Thearion

6372-596: The earliest helots, who, according to Theopompus, were descended from the initial Achaeans , whom the Dorians had conquered. But not all Achaeans were reduced to helotism: the city of Amyclae , home of the Hyacinthia festival, enjoyed special status, as did others. Contemporary authors propose alternative theories: according to Antiochus of Syracuse, helots were the Lacedaemonians who did not participate in

6480-547: The emancipation of helots was "common" ( πολλάκις / pollákis ). The text suggests that this is normally associated with completion of military service. The first explicit reference to this practice in regards to the helots occurs in Thucydides (IV, 26, 5). This is on the occasion of the events at Sphacteria , when Sparta had to relieve their hoplites, who were besieged on the island by the Athenians : The fact was, that

6588-510: 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." Thus Paul Cartledge claims that "the history of Sparta (...)

SECTION 60

#1732769630155

6696-405: The entertainment of the all-male symposium , and the obligatory, regimental syssitia . The symposium ( συμπόσιον sympósion ), traditionally translated as "banquet", but more literally "gathering of drinkers", was one of the preferred pastimes for Greek men. It consisted of two parts: the first dedicated to food, generally rather simple, and a second part dedicated to drinking. However, wine

6804-535: The expression ἐσθίειν κριθὰς μόνας , literally "to eat only barley", with a meaning equivalent to the English "diet of bread and water". Millet was growing wild in Greece as early as 3000 BCE, and bulk storage containers for millet have been found from the Late Bronze Age in Macedonia and northern Greece. Hesiod describes that "the beards grow round the millet, which men sow in summer." Millet

6912-439: The festival of Olympia until some clouds offered him a bit of shade – by which time the assembly had dispersed. (Hence the proverbial expression "Herodotus and his shade" to describe someone who misses an opportunity through delay.) Herodotus's recitation at Olympia was a favourite theme among ancient writers, and there is another interesting variation on the story to be found in the Suda : that of Photius and Tzetzes , in which

7020-422: The first genuinely historical inspiration felt by a Greek. These wars showed him that there was a corporate life, higher than that of the city, of which the story might be told; and they offered to him as a subject the drama of the collision between East and West. With him, the spirit of history was born into Greece; and his work, called after the nine Muses, was indeed the first utterance of Clio . Though Herodotus

7128-449: The first years of the Peloponnesian War (VI, 91; VII, 133, 233; IX, 73) suggests that he returned to Athens, in which case it is possible that he died there during an outbreak of the plague. It is also possible he died in Macedonia instead, after obtaining the patronage of the court there; or else he died back in Thurii. There is nothing in the Histories that can be dated to later than 430 BC with any certainty, and it

7236-445: The food or game boards. Dancers, acrobats, and musicians would entertain the wealthy banqueters. A "king of the banquet" was drawn by lots; he had to direct the slaves as to how strong to mix the wine. With the exception of courtesans , the banquet was strictly reserved for men. It was an essential element of Greek social life. Great feasts could only be afforded by the rich; in most Greek homes, religious feasts or family events were

7344-451: The great earthquake at Sparta to have been a retribution. This affair, recalled by the Athenians in responding to a Spartan request to exile Pericles —who was an Alcmaeonid on his mother's side—is not dated. Historians know only that it happened before the disastrous earthquake of 464 BC. Thucydides here is the only one to implicate the helots: Pausanias speaks rather about Lacedaemonians who had been condemned to death. Nor does

7452-522: The group as helots is the central and symbolic moment of their reduction to serfhood . They are thus institutionally distinguished from the anonymous douloi (slaves)." Certainly conquest comprised one aspect of helotism; thus Messenians, who were conquered in the Messenian Wars of the 8th century BC, become synonymous in Herodotus with helots. The situation seems less clear in the case of

7560-468: The helots and perioeci of Thouria and Aithaia took advantage of the earthquake to revolt and establish a position on Mt. Ithome . He adds that most of the rebels were of Messenian ancestry—confirming the appeal of Ithome as a historical place of Messenian resistance—and focuses attention on the perioeci of Thouria, a city on the Messianian coast. Conversely, historians could deduce that a minority of

7668-467: The helots were Laconian, thus making this the one and only revolt of their history. Commentators such as Stephanus of Byzantium - writing around a thousand years later - suggest that this Aithaia was in Laconia, thus indicating a large-scale uprising in the region. The version of events given by Pausanias is similar. Diodorus Siculus (XI, 63,4 – 64,1), probably influenced by Ephorus of Cyme, attributed

7776-503: The helots, it is unlikely such a tax could be implemented upon the relatively distant Messenia. With Tyrtaeus being a poet, the amount might well have been a poetic figure of speech, similar to the modern "half a kingdom". In fact, it is debated whether the quote refers to helots in the first place, since Tyrtaeus' description of the Second Messenian War refers to enemy phalanxes, indicating the first war could have ended with

7884-411: The latter in order to pacify the region. Though the Messenians may not have triggered full-blown guerrilla warfare , they nevertheless pillaged the area and encouraged helot desertion. Sparta was forced to dedicate a garrison to controlling this activity; this was the first of the ἐπιτειχισμοί / epiteikhismoí ("ramparts"), outposts planted by the Athenians in enemy territory. The second such outpost

7992-424: The matters covered is, in particular, the cause of the hostilities between Greeks and non-Greeks. His record of the achievements of others was an achievement in itself, though the extent of it has been debated. Herodotus's place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact. Dionysius of Halicarnassus ,

8100-413: The middle 3rd century BC: They assign to the Helots every shameful task leading to disgrace. For they ordained that each one of them must wear a dogskin cap ( κυνῆ / kunễ ) and wrap himself in skins ( διφθέρα / diphthéra ) and receive a stipulated number of beatings every year regardless of any wrongdoing, so that they would never forget they were slaves. Moreover, if any exceeded the vigour proper to

8208-511: The name "helot". According to Hellanicus , the word relates to the village of Helos , in the south of Sparta. Pausanias thus states, "Its inhabitants became the first slaves of the Lacedaemonian state, and were the first to be called helots". This explanation is, however, not very plausible in etymological terms. Linguists have associated the word with the root ϝελ- , wel- , as in ἁλίσκομαι , halískomai , "to be captured, to be made prisoner". In fact, some ancient authors did not consider

8316-612: The narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information. Herodotus was criticized in ancient times for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. He retorted that he reported what he could see and was told. A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists . Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus's own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, such as

8424-814: The occasion of more modest banquets. The banquet became the setting of a specific genre of literature, giving birth to Plato 's Symposium , Xenophon 's work of the same name, the Table Talk of Plutarch 's Moralia , and the Deipnosophists ( Banquet of the Learned ) of Athenaeus . The syssitia ( τὰ συσσίτια tà syssítia ) were mandatory meals shared by social or religious groups for men and youths, especially in Crete and Sparta . They were referred to variously as hetairia , pheiditia , or andreia (literally, "belonging to men"). They served as both

8532-415: The population of Spartiate citizens declined. The absence of a formal census prevents an accurate assessment of the helot population, but estimates are possible. According to Herodotus, helots were seven times as numerous as Spartans during the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. The long Peloponnesian War drained Sparta of so many of its citizens that by the time of the conspiracy of Cinadon , the beginning of

8640-449: The promises made by Pausanias were too generous to be believed by the helots; not even Brasidas, when he emancipated his helot volunteers, offered full citizenship. The massacre at Cape Taenarus , the promontory formed by the southernmost tip of Taygetus , is also reported by Thucydides: The Lacedaemonians had once raised up some helot suppliants from the temple of Poseidon at Taenarus, led them away and slain them; for which they believe

8748-427: The ranks of the citizen army. It is difficult to determine whether these births were the results of voluntary liaisons (at least on the part of the father) or part of a formal state program. It is unknown what happened to girls born of such unions, as they served no military purpose. It is possible they were abandoned at birth and left to die, or lived to remain helots. According to Myron of Priene , cited by Athenaeus,

8856-443: The rations mentioned by Thucydides for the Helots on Sphacteria are close to normal. Myron's evidence is interpreted as an extrapolation from actions performed on symbolic representatives. In short, Grote writes that "the various anecdotes which are told respecting [Helot] treatment at Sparta betoken less of cruelty than of ostentatious scorn". He has been followed recently by J. Ducat (1974 and 1990), who describes Spartan treatment of

8964-626: The rebellion, and the Athenians assisted in the resettlement of helots in the town of Naupactus on the coast across the Gulf of Corinth from the Peloponnese. During the same war and after the capitulation of the Spartans besieged in Sphacteria, the Athenians installed a garrison in Pylos composed of Messenians from Naupactus . Thucydides underlines that they had hoped to exploit the patriotism of

9072-468: The research seem independent and "almost detachable", so that they might have been set aside by the author for the purposes of an oral performance. The intellectual matrix of the 5th century, Marincola suggests, comprised many oral performances in which philosophers would dramatically recite such detachable pieces of their work. The idea was to criticize previous arguments on a topic and emphatically and enthusiastically insert their own in order to win over

9180-474: The son of Sphynx lies; in Ionic history without peer; a Dorian born, who fled from slander's brand and made in Thuria his new native land. Yet it was in Athens where his most formidable contemporary critics could be found. In 425 BC, which is about the time that Herodotus is thought by many scholars to have died, the Athenian comic dramatist Aristophanes created The Acharnians , in which he blames

9288-407: The term ethnic, but rather an indication of servitude: Antiochus of Syracuse writes: "those of the Lacedaemonians who did not take part in the expedition were adjudged slaves and were named helots", while Theopompus (fragment 122), cited by Athenaeus (VI, 416c), states, "...and the one nation called their slaves helots and the others called them penestae ..." "In all of these texts, the naming of

9396-420: The text allow us to conclude that this was a failed uprising of helots, only that there was an attempt at escape. Additionally, a helot revolt in Laconia is unlikely, and Messenians would not likely have taken refuge at Cape Taenarus. The uprising coincident with the earthquake of 464 BC is soundly attested to, although Greek historians do not agree on the interpretation of this event. According to Thucydides,

9504-432: The traditional dithyrambic style used for sacred Dionysian hymns: "mixed with safflower, toasted, wheat-oat-white-chickpea-little thistle-little-sesame-honey-mouthful of everything, with a honey rim". Athenaeus says the charisios was eaten at the "all-night festival", but John Wilkins notes that the distinction between the sacred and secular can be blurred in antiquity. Melitoutta ( Ancient Greek : μελιτοῦττα ),

9612-460: The traditional Spartan education. Generally, emancipated helots were referred to as " neodamodes " ( νεοδαμώδεις / neodamōdeis ): those who rejoined the δῆμος / dễmos ( Deme ) of the Perioeci . Moses Finley underscores that the fact helots could serve as hoplites constituted a grave flaw in the system. In effect, the hoplite system was a strict method of training to ensure that discipline

9720-433: The typical diet of modern societies. Legumes would have been important crops, as their ability to replenish exhausted soil was known at least by the time of Xenophon . Hesiod (7th-8th century BCE) describes many crops eaten by the ancient Greeks, among these are artichokes and peas. Vegetables were eaten as soups , boiled or mashed ( ἔτνος etnos ), seasoned with olive oil, vinegar , herbs or γάρον gáron ,

9828-475: The uprising equally to the Messenians and the helots. This version of events is supported by Plutarch. Finally, some authors make responsibility for the uprising with the helots of Laconia. This is the case of Plutarch in his Life of Cimon : the helots of the Eurotas River valley want to use the earthquake to attack the Spartans whom they think are disarmed. The intervention of Archidamus II , who calls

9936-515: The women afterwards. Respect for the father who was the breadwinner was obvious. Slaves waited at dinners. Aristotle notes that "the poor, having no slaves, would ask their wives or children to serve food." The ancient Greek custom of placing terracotta miniatures of furniture in children's graves gives a good idea of its style and design. The Greeks normally ate while seated on chairs; benches were used for banquets. Tables - high for normal meals, low for banquets - were initially rectangular. By

10044-406: Was σταιτίτης ( staititēs ), from σταίτινος ( staitinos ), "of flour or dough of spelt ", derived from σταῖς ( stais ), "flour of spelt". Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae mentions staititas topped with honey, sesame and cheese. A quick lunch ( ἄριστον áriston ) was taken around noon or early afternoon. Dinner ( δεῖπνον deīpnon ), the most important meal of the day,

10152-575: Was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus , part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum , Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria , Italy. He wrote the Histories , a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars , and was the first writer to apply a scientific method to historical events. He has been described as " The Father of History ",

10260-439: Was a honeycake and oinoutta (οἰνοῦττα) was a cake or porridge of barley mixed with wine, water, and oil. Placenta cake was a thin, flat cake of flour, mixed with cheese and honey. Itrion (ἴτριον), was a biscuit/cake made with sesame seeds and honey, similar to the modern Sesame seed candy . Kopte sesamis (κοπτὴ σησαμίς), sometimes called simply κοπτὴ, was a cake made from pounded sesame. Psammeta (ψάμμητα) were

10368-557: Was apparently given to the kryptes , graduates of the difficult agoge who took part in the crypteia . This lack of judicial protection is confirmed by Myron of Priene, who mentions killing as a standard mode of regulation of the Helot population. According to a passage in Thucydides, 2,000 helots were massacred in a carefully staged event in 425 BC or earlier: "The helots were invited by a proclamation to pick out those of their number who claimed to have most distinguished themselves against

10476-508: Was at Kythera . This time, the Athenians set their sights on the helots of Laconia. Again, pillaging and desertion did occur, but not on the scale hoped for by the Athenians or feared by the Spartans: there was no uprising like that which accompanied the earthquake. Notes Bibliography Herodotus Herodotus ( Ancient Greek : Ἡρόδοτος , romanized :  Hēródotos ; c.  484  – c.  425 BC)

10584-410: Was characterized by its frugality for most, reflecting agricultural hardship, but a great diversity of ingredients was known, and wealthy Greeks were known to celebrate with elaborate meals and feasts. The cuisine was founded on the "Mediterranean triad" of cereals , olives , and grapes , which had many uses and great commercial value, but other ingredients were as important, if not more so, to

10692-447: Was consumed with the food, and the beverages were accompanied by snacks ( τραγήματα tragēmata ) such as chestnuts , beans , toasted wheat, or honey cakes, all intended to absorb alcohol and extend the drinking spree. The second part was inaugurated with a libation , most often in honor of Dionysus , followed by conversation or table games, such as kottabos . The guests would recline on couches ( κλίναι klínai ); low tables held

10800-405: Was even intriguing with the helots; and such indeed was the fact, for he promised them freedom and citizenship if they would join him in insurrection, and would help him to carry out his plans to the end. These intrigues did not however lead to a helot uprising; Thucydides indeed implies that Pausanias was turned in by the helots (I, 132, 5 - ...the evidence even of the helots themselves. ) Perhaps

10908-400: Was generally taken at nightfall. An additional light meal ( ἑσπέρισμα hespérisma ) was sometimes taken in the late afternoon. Ἀριστόδειπνον / aristódeipnon , literally "lunch-dinner", was served in the late afternoon instead of dinner. Epideipnis (ἐπιδειπνίς) was a second course at dinner. Men and women took their meals separately. When the house was small, the men ate first and

11016-404: Was hot enough, the coals were swept aside, and dough loaves were placed on the warm floor. The lid was then put back in place, and the coals were gathered on the side of the cover. The stone oven did not appear until the Roman period. Solon , an Athenian lawmaker of the 6th century BCE, prescribed that leavened bread be reserved for feast days. By the end of the 5th century BCE, leavened bread

11124-440: Was imposed on them, they used to bring the half of all the produce of their fields to Sparta.... Like asses worn by their great burdens, bringing of dire necessity to their masters the half of all the fruits the corn-land bears." Pausanias is describing the period immediately after the first Messenian War, when conditions were probably more severe. Also, since taking a percentage of the produce would have required constantly overseeing

11232-418: Was maintained in the phalanx . The Spartans gained considerable reputation as hoplites, due to tactical capabilities developed through constant training. In addition to this military aspect, to be a hoplite was a key characteristic of Greek citizenship. To introduce helots to this system thus led to inevitable social conflict. Phylarchus mentions a class of men who were at the same time free and non-citizens:

11340-448: Was not often used at the table. Use of the fork was unknown; people ate with their fingers. Knives were used to cut the meat. Spoons were used for soups and broths. Pieces of bread ( ἀπομαγδαλία apomagdalía ) could be used to spoon the food or as napkins to wipe the fingers. As with modern dinner parties, the host could simply invite friends or family; but two other forms of social dining were well documented in ancient Greece:

11448-542: Was sold at the market, though it was expensive. Barley was easier to grow than wheat, but more difficult to make bread from. Barley-based breads were nourishing but very heavy. Because of this, it was often roasted before being milled into coarse flour ( ἄλφιτα álphita ). Barley flour was used to make μᾶζα maza , the basic Greek dish. Maza could be served cooked or raw, as a broth, or made into dumplings or flatbreads. Like wheat breads, it could also be augmented with cheese or honey. In Peace , Aristophanes employs

11556-617: Was the late meal. Deipnon could be either, without reference to time. In the later age Greeks had the below meals: Acratisma was the early meal (similar to the ariston of the homeric age), ariston was the middle meal and deipnon was the evening meal (similar to the dorpon of the homeric age). Prochoos (πρόχοος) was a jug or ewer used for washing the hands before and after meals. Breakfast ( ἀκρατισμός akratismós and ἀκράτισμα akratisma , acratisma ) consisted of barley bread dipped in wine ( ἄκρατος ákratos ), sometimes complemented by figs , dates or olives . They also ate

11664-529: Was the workman's typical dish. Cheese, garlic, and onions were the soldier's traditional fare. In Aristophanes' Peace , the smell of onions typically represents soldiers; the chorus, celebrating the end of war, sings Oh! joy, joy! No more helmet, no more cheese nor onions! Bitter vetch ( ὄροβος orobos ) was considered a famine food . Fruits , fresh or dried, and nuts , were eaten as dessert . Important fruits were figs , raisins , dates and pomegranates . In Athenaeus' Deipnosophistae , he describes

#154845