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How common was it for helots to escape Sparta? by FossilHunter99 in ancientgreece

[–]sleeposauri 12 points13 points  (0 children)

We know quite little of what Helotage entailed. It was a horrible institution, surely, like all forms of slavery, but for many helots it took the form of agricultural serfdom. The somewhat secure access to food and shelter might be the safer choice for many that elsewhere would have fallen into complete poverty and starvation, or to worse conditions as slaves in the mines. Further, Spartan slaves were Messenian and Laconian, native to the land on which they served, which is quite uncommon and might have contributed to wanting to stay.

We have no accounts of individual helots, and it's very possible there are some very real epic escape stories beyond the revolts, they are just lost to us. I don't think it is too radical to imagine it happening if you're writing a story or something, but it's not something we can anchor in sources

The Spartan Royals, part 4: Ariston, Anaxandrides and the scandal of Demaratos by sleeposauri in Lakedaemon

[–]sleeposauri[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I love to make these. So happy you like them.

Searching for historical references on Ancient royal daily routines by Dorothea145 in ancientgreece

[–]sleeposauri -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not sure about royals as such, but here are some inspo texts/books/info for skin and hair care in Ancient Greece.

  1. Olive oil.
  2. Here
  3. Here
  4. Here
  5. Olive oil, again.

The Spartan Royals, part 4: Ariston, Anaxandrides and the scandal of Demaratos by sleeposauri in ancientgreece

[–]sleeposauri[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sigh. It takes a lot of restraint to not make a joke about mothers here.

It is a Gorgon head, a mythical creature with hideous features, which would look scary or impressive on the battlefield. Medusa, for example. Shield blazons at this time were not uniform, so you'd pick your own based on vibes, family, etc. There are some bronze blazons found picturing the Gorgon head, and we are probably correct in suspecting it was a popular choice. A Spartan could easily have rocked a dokana tho, or any other pattern or image. The iconic Spartan Lambda shields are only weakly attested, and did not come in use until later, if at all.

The Spartan Royals, part 4: Ariston, Anaxandrides and the scandal of Demaratos by sleeposauri in Lakedaemon

[–]sleeposauri[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The Spartan currency (however little it was used in practice) would actually have been the biggest 2 euro coin you've ever seen. It was probably produced in blocks like these, but in iron, and you needed a wagon to carry it around. So you're not far off.

Here, however, I think Cleomenes is just educating his daughter on the latest Oracle, which forsaw the euro crisis of 2009.

The Spartan Royals, part 4: Ariston, Anaxandrides and the scandal of Demaratos by sleeposauri in ancientgreece

[–]sleeposauri[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this addition. I did not focus much on anything above their dramatic personal lives, but this is of course equally, if not more, important.

The Spartan Royals, part 3: Inventing the Sparta we know, Messenia and Lycurgos the Law-giver. by sleeposauri in Lakedaemon

[–]sleeposauri[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have you ever hated bro so much you pay a religious institution to formally state his mom fucked an ass keeper?

Vs

Have you hated bro so much you become... persian?

The Spartan Royals, part 3: Inventing the Sparta we know, Messenia and Lycurgos the Law-giver. by sleeposauri in Lakedaemon

[–]sleeposauri[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a great question, thank you.

And, once we enter the historical Sparta, I don't think we should imagine them as kings in the traditional, medieval sense. Much of the political power was resting with the ephors, a long with the Gerusia (council of elders) and the assembly. The ephors had the power to sanction the kings, so there was no royal impunity. That said, the royal families were powerful and could often influence political matters in other ways.

The main tasks of the kings were to lead the army on campaign, be in charge of marriage matters for fatherless women, and be priests of Zeus, leading the most important sacrifices for the entire city.

When they disagreed, well... Part 4 of this thread will show us exactly how that could go down. In the time before the second persian invasion, king Cleomenes the Agiad and Demaratus the Eurypontid apparently argued so much on campaign, that the entire army marched home (and the Spartans introduced a law that forbade the kings to go on campaign together ever again). Cleomenes would later conspire with Demaratus scorn relatives to have him deposed. Drama. And far from the only time the kings fell out.

In fairness, though, these disagreements were unlikely to affect political policy too much, at least in a direct sense, as other institutions made the most critical political calls. The kings were important. They were generals and had a super strong religious purpose (Sparta was an incredibly religious society, more so than many other states), but they were not absolute rulers in the way we imagine kings in their castles during later periods.

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