jan 1, 464 BC - Third Messenian War/The Great Helot uprise

Description:

By the fifth century BCE, Sparta had kept strong control over Messenia. Two generations had passed since Aristomenes, but Spartan leaders were still worried about helot unrest.

Their fears proved true in 464 BCE, when a powerful earthquake struck the city.

Ancient writers record that it destroyed buildings and killed many people.

Plutarch claimed 20 000 lives, though that figure may be exaggerated. After the quake, helots of Laconia and Messenia took advantage of situation and rebelled once again.

Thucydides wrote that most helots were descendants of the original Messenians and that they once more went to Mount Ithome.

That mountain had been a fortress in earlier conflicts, and now became the centre of a new rebellion.

Historians often call this revolt the Third Messenian War; others label it the Great Helot Revolt.

When the Spartan leaders surrounded Ithome once more, they recalled how past attempts to break into mountain forts had failed and knew those siege tactics did not match the hoplite methods on which they relied.

After some time, the leaders saw their limits and asked other cities for help, even asking Athens for assistance.

Although they had fundamental political differences, Athens sent a force under Cimon to help against Ithome.

Thucydides wrote that the cooperation quickly went wrong because the Spartans were afraid Athenians might actually support the helots or spread their democratic ideas.

So, the city-state sent the Athenians away, saying their help was no longer needed.

At Mount Ithome, the siege went on for about ten years as the rebels fought hard and stayed on the mountain, where they were cut off from new supplies.

By around 455 BCE, the Spartan leaders sought advice from oracles. Unfortunately, they never received a clear answer.

So, instead, they offered a truce: if rebels left Ithome for good, they would be permitted to leave the Peloponnese peninsula unharmed, but they would never be allowed to return.

The helots accepted the terms and, as they left their homeland, felt deep regret even though they had saved lives.

However, the promises were kept when the surviving helots and their families left and found refuge in Athens.

Athenians welcomed them, both to punish Sparta for rejecting their help during the war, and also to gain loyal settlers.
In fact, in the coming years years, those exiles would became a genunine military asset for Athens.

During the Peloponnesian War, Athens sent Messenian troops from Naupactus into Messenia to encourage helots who remained.

After the Third Messenian War ended, Sparta and its officials increased measures to control helots.

For Messenians, the war had mixed results: those who left gained freedom under Athenian protection but lost their homeland, while many helots stayed behind and faced more servitude.

Ultimately, Messenia remained under Sparta's control until 369 BCE, when Theban forces finally defeated Sparta at Leuctra.


The victorious Theban general Epaminondas freed the helots for good and founded the city of Messene to become their capital.

That event finally ended Sparta's control over the Messenians, and finally reversed the outcome of the First Messenian War.

Added to timeline:

Date: