Messenians
Messenians are the inhabitants of Messenia, a region in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese in Greece. In classical antiquity the term referred to both the free Messenians and the Helots, a large class of state-owned serfs who worked the lands after Sparta conquered Messenia. The region lies west of Laconia, with a coast on the Messenian Gulf and a landscape that includes plains and mountains.
History: In the 8th–7th centuries BCE, Sparta fought the First Messenian War and conquered Messenia, subjugating
Liberation and later status: The Theban general Epaminondas defeated Sparta at Leuctra in 371 BCE and established
Modern era: In contemporary Greece, Messinia (the Messinia regional unit) is located in the southern Peloponnese,