Today's Passage
This passage occurs after the Peace of Nicias (421 BCE), which temporarily ended hostilities between Athens and Sparta.
Crawley Translation (1910)
The same summer the soldiers from Thrace who had gone out with Brasidas came back, having been brought from thence after the treaty by Clearidas; and the Lacedaemonians decreed that the Helots who had fought with Brasidas should be free and allowed to live where they liked, and not long afterwards settled them with the Neodamodes at Lepreum, which is situated on the Laconian and Elean border; Lacedaemon being at this time at enmity with Elis. Those however of the Spartans who had been taken prisoners on the island and had surrendered their arms might, it was feared, suppose that they were to be subjected to some degradation in consequence of their misfortune, and so make some attempt at revolution, if left in possession of their franchise. These were therefore at once disfranchised, although some of them were in office at the time, and thus placed under a disability to take office, or buy and sell anything. After some time, however, the franchise was restored to them.
Modern Translation
That same summer, Clearidas brought back the soldiers from Thrace who had marched out with Brasidas, returning them after the treaty. The Spartans voted to grant freedom to the Helots who had served under Brasidas, allowing them to settle wherever they wished. Soon after, they established these men alongside the Neodamodes at Lepreum, on the frontier between Laconia and Elis—Sparta being then hostile to Elis. As for the Spartans captured on the island who had surrendered their weapons, there was concern they might feel humiliated by their defeat and attempt revolution if they retained their civic rights. They were immediately stripped of citizenship, though some held office at the time, and forbidden from holding positions or engaging in commerce. Eventually, however, their rights were restored.
Historical Context
This passage occurs after the Peace of Nicias (421 BCE), which temporarily ended hostilities between Athens and Sparta. Brasidas, the brilliant Spartan commander, had died at Amphipolis, and his troops—including freed Helots—were being repatriated. The text reveals Spartan anxieties about social stability: they reward Helot veterans with freedom but relocate them to border regions, while simultaneously disenfranchising Spartan citizens who had surrendered at Sphacteria (425 BCE). This unprecedented surrender had shaken Spartan society, as their warriors were expected to die rather than yield. The temporary disenfranchisement reflects deep concerns about maintaining the rigid social hierarchy that underpinned Spartan power.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Helots and Spartan Society
Helots were the enslaved population of Laconia and Messenia who worked Spartan land. Their potential for revolt was a constant Spartan fear. Rewarding Helot veterans with freedom was exceptional, showing both pragmatic military needs and the social tensions within Sparta's rigid caste system.
Learn more →Battle of Sphacteria
In 425 BCE, Athenians trapped and captured 292 Spartans on Sphacteria island, with 120 being full Spartan citizens. This surrender shocked Greece, as Spartans traditionally fought to the death. The captives' return created unprecedented social and political dilemmas for Sparta's warrior culture.
Learn more →Neodamodes
Neodamodes were freed Helots who had earned liberation through military service. They occupied an intermediate status between Helots and citizens, often used as garrison troops in border regions where their loyalty to Sparta (who freed them) would be strongest.
Learn more →Spartan Citizenship
Full Spartan citizenship (being a Spartiate) required birth, completion of the agoge education system, and membership in a syssition (dining club). Loss of citizenship meant exclusion from political life and military service, effectively destroying one's identity in this warrior society.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Plutarch: Life of Nicias (28.1-3)
Plutarch describes the impact of the Sphacteria prisoners' return on Spartan society and how their surrender challenged traditional Spartan values of death before dishonor.
Read passage →Xenophon: Hellenica (3.3.4-11)
Xenophon recounts the conspiracy of Cinadon (399 BCE), revealing ongoing tensions between Spartan citizens, Helots, and intermediate classes like the Neodamodes, showing the long-term instability these social divisions created.
Read passage →Aristotle: Politics (1269b-1270a)
Aristotle analyzes Sparta's treatment of Helots and the constant threat of revolt, providing philosophical context for why Sparta relocated freed Helots to frontier regions rather than integrating them fully.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does Sparta's treatment of the Sphacteria survivors reflect the tension between pragmatic politics and ideological purity in their society?
- What does the relocation of freed Helots to border regions reveal about Spartan strategies for managing internal security and external defense?
- Compare Sparta's disenfranchisement of the surrendered citizens with modern debates about veterans' rights and social reintegration. What parallels and differences emerge?
- How might the different treatment of Helot veterans (rewarded) and Spartan citizens (punished) have affected social cohesion and military morale?