Helot rebellion in Sparta is successful?

Pretty basic POD. What if the rebellion in 465 BC after the Earthquake did actually succeed?
 
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You're going to need another state to help the helots win their freedom and/or for none of Sparta's Peloponnesian allies to assist Sparta in putting down the revolt. Both are tricky to accomplish. Athens is probably the best bet to try and help the helots, but IOTL, they offered to help the Spartans put down the helot revolt (an offer that Spartan pride made them refuse - they didn't trust Athens, which in turn made Athens more anti-Sparta).

Anyways the effect obviously is the end of Sparta's ability to rival Athens, and probably it's ability to lead the Peloponnesian League, if it still exists. So the big political change is that Athens ends up the Hegemon of Greece. This has huge changes in and of itself. As for the helots, their fate post-Leuctra is probably a good model to follow. Messene will be re-founded, and they'll be a staunch ally of whoever opposes Sparta, whether it's Athens, Argos, Thebes, Persia, etc. Sparta will almost certainly try to re-enslave them at some point.
 
A successful slave revolt only a decade after Thermopylae could destroy the popular image of the Spartans as unparalleled warriors, so no 300 :( On the other hand, it might leave Greece open to Athenean domination later on, so more democracy I guess? Maybe Athenean dominated Greece is even strong enough to prevent the rise of Macedonia without the devastation of the Peloponnesian War?
 
A successful slave revolt only a decade after Thermopylae could destroy the popular image of the Spartans as unparalleled warriors, so no 300 :( On the other hand, it might leave Greece open to Athenean domination later on, so more democracy I guess? Maybe Athenean dominated Greece is even strong enough to prevent the rise of Macedonia without the devastation of the Peloponnesian War?

I doubt Athens would act any more democratically than Sparta internationally. Athens was fine with tyrants who where fine with it.
 
Maybe a good POD would be Sparta somehow alienating the rest of Greece some time earlier.

I've had an idea in my head for a timeline for forever where this is actually the case, and this earthquake and helot rebellion is a much bigger deal. I'll share it since I'm almost certainly not going to write it or post it, because I'm lazy and am more interested in other projects, and because I doubt there'd be many people interested. Anyways, the idea is that Croesus realizes the open-endedness of the Oracle's statement that "a great empire would fall if he warred with Persia", and as a result he asks for some Spartan assistance in his war against Cyrus. (He made an alliance with Sparta beforehand) The result is a far less isolationist Sparta that ends up becoming a de facto hegemon of Greece much sooner than IOTL. Athenian democracy is butterflied away. Over time Sparta overplays its hand and comes to be hated by its allies, who take advantage of this earthquake to overthrow Sparta and free the helots. Sparta then retreats back into isolationism while Greece is fought over between Corinth, Argos, Athens, and Thebes in a series of wars. Meanwhile in the Middle East the 26th Dynasty of Egypt and the Chaldean Empire survive.
 
I've had an idea in my head for a timeline for forever where this is actually the case, and this earthquake and helot rebellion is a much bigger deal. I'll share it since I'm almost certainly not going to write it or post it, because I'm lazy and am more interested in other projects, and because I doubt there'd be many people interested. Anyways, the idea is that Croesus realizes the open-endedness of the Oracle's statement that "a great empire would fall if he warred with Persia", and as a result he asks for some Spartan assistance in his war against Cyrus. (He made an alliance with Sparta beforehand) The result is a far less isolationist Sparta that ends up becoming a de facto hegemon of Greece much sooner than IOTL. Athenian democracy is butterflied away. Over time Sparta overplays its hand and comes to be hated by its allies, who take advantage of this earthquake to overthrow Sparta and free the helots. Sparta then retreats back into isolationism while Greece is fought over between Corinth, Argos, Athens, and Thebes in a series of wars. Meanwhile in the Middle East the 26th Dynasty of Egypt and the Chaldean Empire survive.
Not a bad idea.
 
I've had an idea in my head for a timeline for forever where this is actually the case, and this earthquake and helot rebellion is a much bigger deal. I'll share it since I'm almost certainly not going to write it or post it, because I'm lazy and am more interested in other projects, and because I doubt there'd be many people interested. Anyways, the idea is that Croesus realizes the open-endedness of the Oracle's statement that "a great empire would fall if he warred with Persia", and as a result he asks for some Spartan assistance in his war against Cyrus. (He made an alliance with Sparta beforehand) The result is a far less isolationist Sparta that ends up becoming a de facto hegemon of Greece much sooner than IOTL. Athenian democracy is butterflied away. Over time Sparta overplays its hand and comes to be hated by its allies, who take advantage of this earthquake to overthrow Sparta and free the helots. Sparta then retreats back into isolationism while Greece is fought over between Corinth, Argos, Athens, and Thebes in a series of wars. Meanwhile in the Middle East the 26th Dynasty of Egypt and the Chaldean Empire survive.

I thought Croesus did request Spartan support, but they busied themselves instead attacking Argos?
 
I thought Croesus did request Spartan support, but they busied themselves instead attacking Argos?

He did, but after the battle he fought to a draw with Cyrus. He holed up in Sardis after the battle and planned to make use of Spartan assistance the next year but Cyrus attacked him during the winter and by the time his envoys reached Sparta Sardis was taken. During that same year Sparta fought the Battle of Champions with Argos, which then escalated into a full out war that Sparta won. The idea is that he asks for Spartan help beforehand, so the battle near the Halys River is a Lydian victory instead of a draw.
 
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