Helots in Classical Sparta: Ideology and Control

Helots in Classical Sparta: Ideology and Control

The rapid growth of revisionist researches has ‘transformed’ our understanding of Sparta. Traditional stereotypes of the ‘Spartan mirage’ have been challenged in almost all of its contents. This paper reviews the current state of research on the case of helots and tries to suggest a hypothesis that the ideological or hegemonic aspects are essential in understanding the helots problem. It includes the two fundamental question related to helots. First, were helots the first threat to the Spartan state? Second, what we can expect from comparative studies on helots, especially from comparison with the Nobi from Korean history? This paper argues that the discourse on helots’ threats belonged to an ideological hegemony: it justified the current status, functioned to perpetuate the dominating structure, and it was self-deceptive for the rulers as well as for the subordinates. On the other hand, the helots problem must be considered within the Spartan cosmos or the ideological consistency of the polis, which is the principle of exclusion. This logic resulted in harsh oppression of and insults towards helots. Some comparative studies attempted to compensate for the lack of information regarding helots with that from the Nobi of Korea. There exist several apparently similar traits between them in their origins and social conditions. Still, the relatively ample evidence for Korean Nobi cannot be expected to fill the gap of a lack of sources in helot history. The merit of the comparative methods lies in stressing the difference and the unusually harsh treatment of helots. This study calls for further research on the ideological construction of helots in the ancient sources.

The rapid growth of revisionist researches has ‘transformed’ our understanding of Sparta. Traditional stereotypes of the ‘Spartan mirage’ have been challenged in almost all of its contents. This paper reviews the current state of research on the case of helots and tries to suggest a hypothesis that the ideological or hegemonic aspects are essential in understanding the helots problem. It includes the two fundamental question related to helots. First, were helots the first threat to the Spartan state? Second, what we can expect from comparative studies on helots, especially from comparison with the Nobi from Korean history? This paper argues that the discourse on helots’ threats belonged to an ideological hegemony: it justified the current status, functioned to perpetuate the dominating structure, and it was self-deceptive for the rulers as well as for the subordinates. On the other hand, the helots problem must be considered within the Spartan cosmos or the ideological consistency of the polis, which is the principle of exclusion. This logic resulted in harsh oppression of and insults towards helots. Some comparative studies attempted to compensate for the lack of information regarding helots with that from the Nobi of Korea. There exist several apparently similar traits between them in their origins and social conditions. Still, the relatively ample evidence for Korean Nobi cannot be expected to fill the gap of a lack of sources in helot history. The merit of the comparative methods lies in stressing the difference and the unusually harsh treatment of helots. This study calls for further research on the ideological construction of helots in the ancient sources.