Perieco

The periecos (in Greek, Περίοικοι, meaning "inhabitants of the periphery") were, in Ancient Greece, one of the social groups in the territory controlled by Sparta.

The territories they inhabited were under the rule of the Spartans, but their inhabitants had not been reduced to the status of helots. They were free people who, despite being subject to Spartan authority, enjoyed certain rights and had outstanding importance by being part of the army and carrying out commercial activities.

Their geographical origins were diverse, since in addition to Laconians there were among them people from Messenia and Arcadia.

Living conditions

They lived in settlements far from the central Spartan core. This is where the name comes from, since periecos means that live around (comes from περί: around, and οἴκος -pronounced "echoes"-: house); that is, around Sparta. Indeed, their autonomously organized settlements were located on the coast and in the northern part of the Eurotas river valley.

The land where they lived was alienable: susceptible to buying and selling, since it did not belong to the state.

The population centers of the periecos came to develop a certain autonomy. They were possibly subject to the control of Spartan magistrates, the harmostas, although the exact role of these magistrates is unknown. From a scholia of Pindar the fact that there were twenty harmostas is known, and for this reason it has been suggested that the Pereican territory was divided into twenty districts.

On the other hand, the periecos were not a homogeneous group but there were great social differences between them: part of them were landowners (some of these came from aristocratic lineages and others not), another group was made up of peasants and another by dispossessed who subsisted with their work.

Notably, landlords could also own slaves, which in no case were helots, as these were controlled exclusively by the Spartiats.

Depending on the location of the settlements and their level of social prosperity, their activities varied. The main ones were crafts, trade, agriculture and livestock. The landowners, having slaves who cultivated their lands, could dedicate themselves to military education. Even the periecos could participate in the Olympic Games.

Obligations

On the individuals of this social class, the State imposed several obligations, mainly in military service: among them soldiers who fought alongside the Spartans were recruited. Herodotus indicates that 5,000 periecs fought in the battle of Plataea. They also made up the crew of the small Spartan navy and the manufacturing staff of some items. They were also subject to payment of tributes (the same that Spartan citizens contributed).

They couldn't marry Spartans. No rebellion or uprising led by periecos has been registered. For this reason it is inferred that his position in the Spartan State was bearable. They could even hold positions of importance and responsibility, such as the periec Diníadas, who appears in command of a ship of the Peloponnesian fleet in the Peloponnesian War, or another periec called Phrinis, who was sent by the Spartans to Chios to inspect the resources of the Quiotas before formalizing an alliance with them.