Hélos
Hélos (in Greek old τὸ Ἕλος / tò Hélos , “the marsh”) is the name given to many towns of ancient Greece, because of their proximity of marshes.
More particularly, it is the name of a town of Laconie located not far from the mouth of the river Eurotas. It is built on a plain which, according to Polybe (V, I, 19.7), is the most fertile ground of the area. The city is old, and was probably the capital of the littoral area at the time antiquated: Homère mentions it in the Catalog of the vessels ( Iliade , II, 584) at the same time as Amyclées, which probably assumed the role of capital of the interior regions. According to the mythology, it had been rested by the youngest child of wire of Persée.
At the time of the conquest dorienne, Hélos is taken and its inhabitants are reduced in slavery. According to certain authors like Hellanicos, they are at the origin of the Hilotes (in Greek Εἵλωτες / Heílôtes ). However, this explanation is not very plausible étymologiquement, the word being attached rather to the root ϝελ / wel , of ἁλίσκομαι / alískomai , “captured being, captive being”.
The area is devastated by Philippe V of Macedonia during the Guerre of Allied the, in 218 - 217 av. J. - C.
At the time of Strabon (1st century of our era), the city is nothing any more but one simple village. When Pausanias (2nd century) the visit, it is in ruins.