Sparta’s dependent agricultural laborers were called helots.
Helots were an unfree population tied to the land and required to work estates assigned to Spartan citizens. Most came from Messenia, a region Sparta conquered during the archaic period, while others were associated with Laconia. Their labor supported the citizen class, allowing Spartan men to devote much of their public life to military training and communal institutions.
Helots were not identical to chattel slaves in every legal and historical respect, and their exact status varied over time. They generally cultivated land and transferred a required share of its produce to the citizen who held the allotment. The Spartan state controlled them collectively, while individual citizens exercised authority over their labor.
Their large population created a persistent security concern for Sparta. Ancient sources describe harsh measures, including the krypteia and an annual declaration of war against the helots. During the Peloponnesian War, some helots received freedom for military service. Helot resistance and the earthquake of 464 BCE exposed the fragility of Spartan control.