Life in Sparta as a Helot: My Diary

Day 1: Morning The Spartans are overburdening us and making us give a large amount of our produce, which we have worked hard for, to the owners of the land that we work on. Some of us are even being obliged by war forces. My close friend has just been taken by the Crypteia. He is going to be beaten by young warriors as part of their war training. The Spartans are hugely outnumbered by us. For every one Spartan, there are seven Helots. Because of this, the Spartans are regularly checking in on us to make sure everything is going as planned. I think that they are slightly threatened by our size and think that we will turn against them.

Day 1: Midday Today we have lots of work to do. We have to tend the fields, farm new crops. These crops consist of wheat, olives, grapes, cabbage, onions, lentils, chickpeas, beans and many herbs, spices and oilseed plants. We are expected to construct some new buildings, take care of the Spartan homes and cook their meals, which were mainly breads and vegetables stews and curries, using spices and herbs to add flavour. We also have to learn the basic trading skills which are essential for the economy of Sparta. Some of the other Helots have gone off with the Spartans to war. They are fighting their rival city Athens because both Athenians and Spartans wanted control of the Delian League, a league of different cities in Greece. Some of us will be assisting in the battle, and the ones that are not fighting will be carrying the weapons of the Spartans onto the battlefield or tending to each Spartan as a servant, helping them when help is needed. If the other Helots do well in the battle, or prove to be trustworthy with their assisting, they will earn a promotion in how much produce they receive each time they get paid. Hopefully they do prove themselves. I wish I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity. I would take every chance I got to prove to the Spartans that I deserved the promotion.

Day 2: Midday Us helots are blessed with the fact that we get to live in units with our families. They are small, fairly old and not made of the best material, but I am grateful I have somewhere to live. Sometimes these units are put into communities separate from the others which can give some of us the chance to escape and go back to our home town of Laconia. Sadly, our future families are going to automatically be forced into a life of slavery, because we, their parents, are slaves. This would most likely explain how the population of helots are growing immensely. Nevertheless, I am glad that we are even allowed to have a family.

Day 2: Night Tonight I have been paid for all of my hard work. But here in Sparta, we do not get paid in money, we get paid in goods and produce. These goods include wheat and herbs. Some of my friends have been working particularly hard, resulting in a promotion that will earn them more produce. Hopefully then they can save up enough produce to pay their way out of slavery, because they would definitely deserve it.

Day 3: Evening Even though I am a slave, I am still entitled to some of my rights, including my religious beliefs. My family and I like to participate in religious celebrations and practices, because we are strong believers in religion and the powers is has. We worship Demeter and Dionysus because they are the gods in charge of agriculture. We pray to them for good crops so that we can receive more pay. In the evenings, we all sit together as a family and practice our religious festivities, because they brings us closer as a family, as individuals and put us in touch with our surroundings.

Day 3: Night As a slave, I face many challenges everyday like constructing buildings and cooking stews, soups, curries and breads for the Spartans. But what I dislike about it the most is that I have been forced into this position and I have no say about it. I have been taken from my home in Laconia, most of my rights and my parents, who I have not seen in a very long time and miss quite a lot. I do not have any say in politics. I do not have any time to enjoy myself because of the vast amounts of work I have to do and I am afraid of being killed by the Spartans. One of the things I am happy about is that I have the opportunity to see my family every day. My family are very important to me and I cannot imagine my life without them. I am also very pleased that I can continue with my religious celebrations and practices. Religion is a big part of my life, and it helps me to relax and de-stress after a long day of working.

Day 4: Morning They are now starting to declare war to us every year, in order to make sure that we remain under slavery. This is meaning that more and more of us are being killed, especially those who are showing signs of independence and/or strength. Fortunately, we have been blessed with the opportunity to be free. An earthquake has come upon Sparta today, and we have found a stronghold on Mount Ithome. Some of us Helots are planning to escape from slavery. Luckily the Spartans are busy trying to repair all the damage that the earthquake has done.