Apellai (), was a three-day family-festival of the Northwest

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

similar with the Ionic

Apaturia Apaturia () were ancient Greek festivals held annually by all the Ionian towns, except Ephesus and Colophon. At Athens the Apaturia took place on the 11th, 12th and 13th days of the month of Pyanepsion (mid-October to mid-November), on which o ...

, which was dedicated to

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

( Doric form: ).Walter Burkert (1985) ''Greek Religion''. Harvard University Press. p. 255 The fest was spread in Greece by the

Dorians The Dorians (; , , singular , ) were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Greeks, Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians). They are almost alw ...

as it is proved by the use of the month ''Apellaios'' ( or in Ionic

Tenos Tinos ( ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It forms part of the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2021 census population of 8,934 inhabitants. Tinos is famous amo ...

), in various Dorian states.

Etymology and related words

The word is derived from the Ancient Macedonian word ''pélla'' (), "stone", ( Heshychius) which appears in some toponyms in Greece like

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

(),

Pellene Pellene (; ; ) was a city and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, the most easterly of the twelve Achaean cities (the Achaean League). Its territory bordered upon that of Sicyon on the east and upon that of Aegeira on the west. Pellene was s ...

()

Robert Beekes Robert Stephen Paul Beekes (; 2 September 1937 – 21 September 2017) was a Dutch linguist who was emeritus professor of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Leiden University and an author of many monographs on the Proto-Indo-European lang ...

suggests that the word has probably

Pre-Greek The pre-Greek substrate (or substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Greek language or languages (either Pre-Indo-European or other Indo-European languages) spoken in prehistoric Greece prior to the emergence of the Proto-Greek language in the r ...

origin. The Doric word ''apella'' () originally meant wall, enclosure of stones, and later assembly of people within the limits of the square . The word usually appears in plural.

derives the word from the verb , ("shut off from or out from") therefore ''apella'' is the "enclosed space, meeting space". When a pubescent was received into the body of grown men, as a grown ''Kouros'' (male youth) he became (''apellax'', "sharer in secret rites") and he could enter the ''apellai''. The

apellaia The apellaia () were the offerings made at the initiation of a young man ( kouros) at a meeting of a family-group ( ''phratria'') of the northwest Greeks. Apellaios () is the month of these rites and offerings, and Apellon (, Doric form of Apollo ...

were the offerings made at the initiation of the young men at a meeting of a family group. Apellaion is the offering of a part of the hair to the god, and corresponds to the ''Koureion'' of the

. ''Apellaios'' is the month of these rites, and Apellon is the "megistos kouros" (the great Kouros).

Ancient practice

There is evidence for this festival in

Epidauros Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: '' Palaia Epidavros'' and '' Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of ...

Olous Olous or Olus (, or ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' § 350.) was a city of ancient Crete; now sunken, it was situated at the site of present day town of Elounda, Crete, Greece. According to the ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'', it had a harbour and was locat ...

, Kalchedon, "Heracleia" at

Siris Siris may refer to: Mythology *Siris (goddess), the Mesopotamian goddess of beer *Siris (mythology), a figure in Greek mythology; also known as Sinis Places *Siris, Magna Graecia, an ancient city in southern Italy *Siris, Sardinia, an Italian comm ...

, Tauromenion, Chaleion,

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

, Oeta ( (''Oetē'')),

Tolophon Tolophon (), also Tolphon (Τολφών), was a town of the Ozolian Locrians, possessing a large harbour according to Dicaearchus Dicaearchus of Messana (; ''Dikaiarkhos''; ), also written Dikaiarchos (), was a Greek philosopher, geographer and ...

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

and also in

Ancient Macedonia Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

. The

phratry In ancient Greece, a phratry (, derived from ) was a group containing citizens in some city-states. Their existence is known in most Ionian cities and in Athens and it is thought that they existed elsewhere as well. Almost nothing is known about th ...

(‘brotherhood’) controlled the access to civic rights. The three-day family-festival included initiation ceremonies, not concerning the state: * A father introduced his young child * A father presented his son again, later, as grown youth (

kouros Kouros (, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculpture, Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with ...

) * A husband presented his wife after the marriage The corresponding names for the offerings made were ''paideia'' (child), ''

'' (

) and ''gamela'' (marriage, Greek: γάμος ''gamos''). It is almost sure that the fest belonged originally to

, because his name is used in the oaths only near Poseidon Phratrios and Zeus Patroοs. In

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

a common epithet of Apollo as family-god is "Apollo Patroos".Temple of Apollo Patroos
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Νotes

{{Reflist Festivals of Apollo Ancient Greek festivals by region Lunisolar calendars

Etymology and related words

Ancient practice

See also

Νotes