I. Definition
The numerous literary sources regarding the history of the H. are often contradictory and inaccurate. In general the H. (εἵλωτες, εἱλώται, heílōtes, heilṓtai) are called by the usual Greek term for bonded persons, δοῦλοι (doûloi), but there is no agreement about the form of their dependency. Now and then the H. are compared with other likewise dependent population groups, for instance with the Penestae of Thessaly (Pl. Leg. 77…