In ancient Sparta, the Agoge prepared boys for a lifetime of military service with harsh training that emphasised strength ...

At the bottom were the helots: a slave class descended from those peoples who had resisted subjugation by Sparta. Because the helots were constantly rebelling, the Spartans attempted to control ...

The city-state’s helots, or serfs, took care of agriculture ... This revolutionary style would prove central to many poetic traditions, from ancient Rome to medieval France to Renaissance ...

At the bottom were the helots: a slave class descended from those peoples who had resisted subjugation by Sparta. Because the helots were constantly rebelling, the Spartans attempted to control ...