Spartan Helots?

[Happy Wanderer]

Gents,

Helots served alongside Spartan hoplites on campaign. A few questions if I may for your thoughts.

Helots certainly seemed to fight as light infantry of sorts...more Psiloi than peltasts, if you follow. I assume they are armed with spear and shield. Any idea what shield they would use?...a standard round shield I would think and was it in any way painted with the Spartan Lambda? Was a crescent pelta used?

I've read a reference that Peloponnesian troops would all be in the red clothing of the Spartan region..this less so, as you move further away from Sparta...do you think that would apply to the helots? Would they look more like 'generic' Greek light infantry?

I've also come across a suggestion the helots fought in the line and thus could be deployed as hoplites...does that sound right? If so, I assume they'd be armed with aspis and dory like other hoplites. I'm not sure wether they did and it makes sense that the Spartan leadership wouldn't want to allow them this kind of 'militarisation' in case they they started getting funny ideas about independence....helots as hoplites? Perhaps freed helots only?


Whilst once could say that almost anything goes I am looking to strike a theme with the helots within my Spartan force rather than them being to 'generic'. I'm thinking a light infantry role with spear and small round shield with Lamda, dressed in red and a bit of other variation might be about right and fairly accurate look...perhaps freed helots as hoplites?

Any thoughts on the above are appreciated.

Regards

Happy W

[mr ed]

Your lambda question is period specific really. It's appropriate to start to use it after about 420 but probably not for an earlier force.

There's a later Hellenistic source who says they wore leathers and dogskin caps.

It's been suggested that the helots in fact made up the rear ranks of the Spartan phalanx. There's a pretty comprehensive discussion in this pdf that will give you plenty of ideas.

http://www.colorado.edu/classics/clas2041/My%20Articles/Helots%20at%20the%20Battle%20of%20Plataea

[Happy Wanderer]

Hey Mr Ed,

Thanks for that .pdf...excellent stuff.

"leathers and dogskin caps"
Was that source saying that was their look at any particular time or in the later stages of the Spartan hegemony...pre Leuctra?


By way of minis to reflect 'types'. Would 'back rank' helots be like Victrix unarmoured hoplites and 'skirmish' helots be more like the Victrix Psiloi box ie essentially a man in garment with weapon based upon his role?

or "leathers and dogskin caps"

Cheers

HW

[mr ed]

Was that source saying that was their look at any particular time or in the later stages of the Spartan hegemony...pre Leuctra?

Well Myron of Priene is probably a Hellenistic source, and considered pretty unreliable even in the ancient period. He was writing about the Messenian revolt, so quite an early subject, 4 or 500 years before his own time.

The point at which you want to look for a change in the treatment of helots is probably  the earthquake of 464.

[Jericho]

Helots certainly seemed to fight as light infantry of sorts...more Psiloi than peltasts, if you follow. I assume they are armed with spear and shield. Any idea what shield they would use?...a standard round shield I would think and was it in any way painted with the Spartan Lambda? Was a crescent pelta used?

Well, psiloi means "bare, naked". So apart from their weapon, be it sling, bow or javelin, they were unarmoured and unshielded. Peltasts on the other hand are named for their pelte shield, beyond this there doens't seem to be a lot of difference btween the two of them. A peltast was just a shield away from being called a psiloi.

I've read a reference that Peloponnesian troops would all be in the red clothing of the Spartan region..this less so, as you move further away from Sparta...do you think that would apply to the helots? Would they look more like 'generic' Greek light infantry?

I would think they would were what they own and nothing more. They were the lowest and poorest so I don't think a helot would have had the funds to buy a red-coloured army tunic.

I've also come across a suggestion the helots fought in the line and thus could be deployed as hoplites...does that sound right? If so, I assume they'd be armed with aspis and dory like other hoplites. I'm not sure wether they did and it makes sense that the Spartan leadership wouldn't want to allow them this kind of 'militarisation' in case they they started getting funny ideas about independence....helots as hoplites? Perhaps freed helots only?

"Service guarantees citizenship" was one of the slogans in Starship Troopers, the same was true for Sparta.
Herodotus says that at the time of the battle of Plateia (479bc) there were seven Helots for each Spartan, giving a number of 5000 Spartiates, 5000 Perioikoi and 35000 Helots. These numbers might be inflated but show there were a lot more Helots than Spartans available for muster and thus represented a valuable resource of manpower.
And they needed to be enlisted because otherwise the only the Spartans would die while the Helot population could ultimately take over Sparta by sheer numerical overweight.
So Helots were recruited and could earn the right of freedom through military service. Although the social class differences would no doubt create tension.

Whilst once could say that almost anything goes I am looking to strike a theme with the helots within my Spartan force rather than them being to 'generic'. I'm thinking a light infantry role with spear and small round shield with Lamda, dressed in red and a bit of other variation might be about right and fairly accurate look...perhaps freed helots as hoplites?

Freed Helots would be called Neodamodes, after their time of military service in the Spartan army.

Ultimately, on the battlefield each soldier falls into their own category, according to their equipment & armament, and when the sh*t hit the fan I think social class differences go swiftly out the window in the brutal clash of steel and locked shields. At that moment there are no more Spartans or Helots; only hoplites (naked, tunicked or armoured), skirmishers & cavalry, each man standing shoulder to shoulder against the enemies hurling themselves on the valiant phalanx.

Maybe only the armoured hoplites get the red tunics and call them Spartiates.
The unarmoured and naked hoplites & skirmishers can have all other colours except red and call them Perioikoi, or Neodamodes, or Helots.
But on the other hand, do what you want to do, it's your army of course.

[julesav]

This video might be a help with your shield query?



I think that the helots are not technically Spartans - also technically not all hoplites in the 'Spartan army' were actually 'Spartan', let alone allowing for allied contingents. Even at Thermopylae there were allies present and only the 300 Spartiates get credit for the last stand scenario. Also aren't there specific property and equipment requirements you had to meet in order for you to fight in the phalanx, vote etc?

[Happy Wanderer]

A very interesting series of videos. Thanks. It seems that helots come in a variety of forms so from freed slave hoplites to light troops seems more than reasonable.

Cheers

HW