### id282225583 the historicity of the Second Messenian War is debated > The first major incident that could be considered a possible Helot revolt is the so-called 'Second Messenian War'. The historicity of this event and whether the Messenians involved were at this point under the conditions of Helotage are much debated. It is possible Tyrtaios, a contemporary Spartan poet, *might* have been involved. His poetry is much too fragmented to get a clear picture from it alone, and later testimony is not unanimous. Pausanias, writing in the 2nd c. AD, is our most complete source on the topic, but Pausanias was utilising sources from the Hellenistic period which Pausanias himself noted were not wholly reliable ([4.6.1-2](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+4.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160)). Moreover, Pausanias, who presumably had greater access to Tyrtaios' poetry than we do, tells us that the Messenians were not yet subject to Helotage, but were so after this conflict ([4.14.5-6](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+4.14&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160); [4.24.5](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D24)). So, this war may not have happened, instead being a nationalistic invention of the Hellenistic period, and even if it had, those involved might not have been Helots. That said, some Messenians are said to have gone to Zankle prior to the end of this conflict, and could be considered the first Helots to escape servitude to the Spartans (Paus. [4.23.6](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D23)). - [View Highlight](https://reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/p13hr6/do_we_know_about_any_escaped_spartan_helots/hv5d1tk?__readwiseLocation=0%2F4%2F0%2F4%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F4%2F1%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F3%3A0%2C10%2F4%2F0%2F4%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F4%2F1%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F3%3A2#:~:text=The%20first%20major%20incident%20that%2Cto%20the%20Spartans%20(Paus.%204.23.6).) - [[Do we know about any escaped spartan helots AskHistorians by Interesting Inquirer#id282225583 the historicity of the Second Messenian War is debated|View in Vault]]