Helots: class of unfree peasants in Spartan society, who may be defined as state-owned serfs. ... Unlike the slaves in Athens, helots had families and communities of their own, and they were no private property. Therefore, Pausanias calls them "slaves of the commonwealth".

Did Athens or Sparta have helots?

helot, a state-owned serf of the ancient Spartans. The ethnic origin of helots is uncertain, but they were probably the original inhabitants of Laconia (the area around the Spartan capital) who were reduced to servility after the conquest of their land by the numerically fewer Dorians.

Who used helots in ancient Greece?

In Ancient Sparta, the Helots were a subjugated population of slaves. Formerly warriors, the Helots outnumbered the Spartans considerably. During the time of the Battle of Plataea, which took place in 479 B.C., there were seven Helots for every Spartan.