helot
/ˈhɛlət/
noun
- A member of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta who were owned by the state and forced to work the land.
- A helot could be killed without legal consequence if a Spartan deemed it necessary.
- The helots were treated harshly by the Spartan ruling class.
- In ancient Sparta, helots outnumbered the citizens and were often feared.
- A person who is in a state of complete subservience or oppression; a slave or bondservant.
- The factory workers felt like helots under the cruel management.
- He refused to live as a helot to his own debts.
- No one should be treated as a helot in a modern democracy.