ALO´A
ALO´A or
HALO´A (
Ἀλῶα,
Ἁλῶα), an
Attic harvest festival, but celebrated principally at Eleusis and Athens, in
honour of Demeter and Dionysus, the inventors of the plough and protectors
of the fruits of the earth. It took place every year after the harvest was
over, and only fruits were offered on this occasion, partly as a grateful
acknowledgment for the benefits the husbandman had received, and partly that
the next harvest might be plentiful. We learn from Demosthenes (
c.
Neaer. p. 1385.116), that it was unlawful to offer any bloody
sacrifice on the day of this festival, and that the priestess alone had the
privilege to offer the fruits. The festival
[p. 1.99]was also
called
θαλύσια (
Hesych. sub voce), or
συγκομιστήρια. The exact time of its celebration, as well as its
duration, cannot be determined with certainty. (See A. Mommsen,
Heortologie, p. 320 foll.)
[
L.S]
