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The two first Messenian Wars were the wars between Messenia and Sparta in the 8th century BC and 7th century BC. The Third Messenian conflict was a helot revolution in the 460s BC that was so massive and long term it was later named the Third Messenian War.
Weaving through legend and facts, which can be an arduous task, it appears that a Spartan king by the name of Theopompus decided to capture the grand fortress of Ithome, ushering in the First Messenian War. Around the end of the seventh century the Second Messenian War broke out, centering around a Messenian hero by the name of Aristodemus. There is a tale that Aristodemus offered to sacrifice his daughter in order to appease the gods and spare his country from being overrun by the Spartans. Aristodemus' daughter had a lover who, in a vain attempt at sparing her life, spread lies that she was about to become a mother. When Aristodemus learned of this fallacy he slew her with his own hands. Messenia was conquered nevertheless.
The Spartans wanted to reward their own citizens with Messenian land, thereby throwing the native population into almost slavelike conditions with the title of helot. The helots, however, were a constant threat to Sparta. Pitiful conditions and vindictive attitudes toward the Spartans led to staged rebellions that were quite difficult to suppress. This, consequently, led the Spartans to invest their society into a more military approach to life compared to the other city-states of ancient Greece.
A helot rebellion occurred under the leadership of a poet by the name of Tyrtaeus. The rebellion was supported by nearby city-states in Arcadia and Pisatis. Eventually they were defeated in the Battle of the Great Foss.
The third Messenian War was from 468 BC until 458 BC. Simmering from 468 BC the helot revolution exploded after the massive earthquake of 464 BC which caused great losses among the Spartans. The helots fortified themselves at Ithome. The Spartans asked for assistance from Athens which sent 4,000 hoplites under Cimon. While these hoplites were away from Athens Ephialtes of Athens introduced radical democratic reforms in the Athenian constitution which alarmed the Spartans. As a result, they declined the Athenian assistance, which led to a drop of Cimon's standing in Athens and his ostracism. The Spartans eventually negotiated a settlement with the helots in 458 BC. Based on the terms of the settlement, those in Ithome were allowed to leave so long that they never return to the Peloponnese under penalty of slavery
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