aloa

ALO´Aor 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 was also called θαλύσια (Hesych. s. v.), 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.)