Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

124 Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks
well have lived in greater fear of their slaves than did most other
Greek communities.
Helots had no political or legal rights and could be executed
without trial. They could be freed only by a decision of the Spartan
assembly. Their condition was so wretched that the poet Tyrtaios
describes them as “asses worn down with great burdens.” They did,
however, serve in the army as light-armed troops. In fact Herodotos
(9.10) claims that no fewer than 35,000 helots served as such at the
battle of Plataiai in 479 b.c.e. If that figure is even remotely accurate,
it is no exaggeration to state that Greece’s ultimate victory over the
forces of barbarism was due in large part to the contribution of the
downtrodden and degraded.
Helots were the property of the Spartan state, which assigned them to individual
citizens, who did not have the right to dispose of them. They served as baggage
carriers in war and in exceptional circumstances were recruited into the army.
Because, unusually among slave populations, they were allowed to propagate
without restriction, they were racially homogeneous. For this reason, the Spartans
were constantly fearful of helot revolts and took extreme measures to safeguard
against them, as this chilling incident reported by Thukydides indicates:
On one occasion [in 424 b.c.e. ] the Spartans issued a proclamation to their helots
offering freedom to those who judged themselves to have shown the most
bravery in war. Their purpose was to make test of them, since they believed that
those who came forward first to claim their freedom would also be the ones who
were most likely to give them trouble. Two thousand were selected. They were
crowned and did the rounds of the temples, thinking that they had been liberated.
Not long afterwards, however, the Spartans eliminated them. To this day
nobody knows exactly how any of them perished. (4.80.3–5)
The Economy
Sparta, above all Greek communities of which we have record,
embodied the ideal of autarkeia or economic self-sufficiency (see
p. 23). This had important consequences for daily life. It meant
that the majority of Spartans had to be content to lead lives of the
utmost frugality and simplicity. Most had virtually no means of
acquiring wealth, because the Spartan economy was chiefly agrarian.
Although some Spartan-made goods are found outside Sparta
in the sixth century b.c.e. , in the following century they become
extremely rare. The limited importance of trade is further indicated
by the decision that was taken soon after 600 b.c.e. not to mint
silver coins. The alleged law banning Spartans from possessing
coins is, however, almost certainly a later fabrication. Although we