The Neodamodes (, neodamōdeis) were Helots freed after passing a time of service as hoplites in the Spartan Army. The date of their first apparition is uncertain. Thucydides does not explain the origin of this special category. Jean Ducat, in his book Les Hoplites (1990), concludes that their statute "was largely inspired by the measures dictated concerning the Brasidians", i.e. the Helots freed after taking part to the expedition of Brasidas in 424 BC.