Spartan Mora regiments at Battle of Plataea

[Paullus Scipio]

Paralus wrote:

As to Neodamondeis, I think they are first referred to at Mantinea by that term. I do not think the term is attested beforehand. References to “helots armed as hoplites” but not until Mantinea is there a “class” of infantry known as Neodamondeis. The two thousand you refer to are those that are assigned to Asia Minor after the war?

All of which is not to say that they did not already exist but, unless memory fails, Mantinea is the first time such are named.

....having the advantage of having Thucydides to hand, I can say that the first reference to 'neodamodeis' as such ( "new citizens"/freed Helots) is at Thuc.V.34, when he tells us that in 421 BC, Clearidas brings home the troops who had served Brasidas until his death, dollowing the peace treaty which resulted. These are freed, and join the already freed Helots ( neodamodeis), presumably those raised in 425, and settled with them at Lepreum, just over the Lakonian border in the territory of Elis.....
As to there being 2,000 'neodamodeis', that seems to be the number of 'Helot Hoplites' raised in 425 (Thuc, IV.80 ) and allegedly all murdered, which cannot be so since as we have seen they seem to have been subsequently settled at Lepreum( as set out above). In 418 a contingent of them fights alongside their fellows who served with Brasidas at Mantinea, as referred to in previous posts, and in 413, 600 of them are sent to Sicily (Thuc.VII.19) and in 412, 300 form an expeditionary force (Thuc VIII.8 ). Thibron takes 1,000 'noedamodeis' to Asia in the year 400 (Xen Hellenica III.1.4) and Agesilaus has 2000 with him in 396 ( Xen Hellenica III.4.2 ). In 394 these are all still in garrison in Asia (Ibid IV.25) or accompanying Agesilaus ( Ibid,III.15) . In 382, Eudamidas has an unspecified number with him ( Ibid, V.2.24 ).....