They were conquered by Sparta, who made the people into serfs, who delivered half their crop to Sparta.
Depends. What the heck are helots?
Spartans needed to be able to keep helots at bay
Sparta
The rebellion of helots in 650 B.C. caused Sparta to establish a military society. This revolution marked complete change in Spartan life.
Helots :P (^@^)~
by signing up for the military
Helots
Depends. What the heck are helots?
The Helots were not Spartan citizens ; they were essentially slaves .
Helots were important because they revolted often. The average Spartan citizen had 12 helots to himself. So, the helots outnumbered the Spartans. The helots' large rebellions caused the Spartans to strenghten their army. This constant test of military ability made the Spartan military strong and powerful.
The city-states of warrior and helots refers to the current city of Sparta. The helots were originally free Greeks from the areas of Messenia.
The Helots were a subjugated population in Laconia and Messenia, a territory controlled by Sparta
The helots (serfs) farmed the land and delivered half their produce to Spartan state. This was distributed to the Spartan citizens who were thus able to devote their time to physical fitness and military activities.
If the helots defeated the Spartans, the Spartans, being defeated, could not do anything to them.
Spartans needed to be able to keep helots at bay
The helots were the state-owned serfs of the Spartans. They were most likely Laconian and Messenian. There was a greater number of helots than Spartans, therefore each year when a Spartan Magistrate took office he declared war on the helots. This meant that the helots could be murdered at any time. The Krypteia, or the Spartan secret police, also routinely killed helots.
They are not Greek, they are Dorians. They raided from the north and enslaved the helots and settled near the helots.