Messenia in 431 B.C.

Messenia — Helot Territory of Sparta · 431 B.C..

Interactive map of Messenia — a sub-region of the Spartan state in 431 B.C. Conquered by Sparta in the 8th century B.C. (the First Messenian War) and again after a major helot revolt in the 7th. By 431 B.C. its inhabitants — the Messenian helots — formed the bulk of the agricultural workforce that supported the entire Spartan military system. The fear of a helot revolt was the dominant strategic anxiety of the Spartan state. Messenia — conquered land worked by enslaved helots whose labor supported the Spartiate warrior class. Explore the map of Messenia within Sparta on the eve of the Peloponnesian War.