In his narrative on the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides recounts a chilling episode involving the Lacedaemonians and their Helot slaves.
The Lacedaemonian Proclamation
The Lacedaemonians, wary of the burgeoning youth and sheer numbers of their Helot slaves, have always employed numerous strategies to suppress and intimidate them. In a strategic move, they announced that any Helot who had rendered exceptional service in the ongoing war could petition for freedom. This decree was a test to identify those with the audacity to demand freedom as a reward for their valor, marking them as potential leaders of insurrection.
The Ill-Fated Reward
Subsequently, around two thousand Helots were deemed deserving of emancipation. They were paraded to the temple in a dignified ceremony, adorned with garlands, celebrated as free men. However, in a sinister turn of events, all these newly freed individuals were mysteriously eliminated, and to this day, the exact circumstances of their demise remain unknown to the world.
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