Alces′tis, wife of Admetus, who, to save her husband’s life, died in his stead, and was restored to life by Hercules.
Alci′des, one of the names of Hercules.
Alcme′na, the mother of Hercules, was daughter of Electrion, a king of Argos.
Alec′to was one of the Furies. She is depicted as having serpents instead of hair on her head, and was supposed to breed pestilence wherever she went.
Alec′tryon, a servant of Mars, who was changed by him into a cock because he did not warn his master of the rising of the sun.
Al′fadur, in Scandinavian Mythology the Supreme Being—Father of all.
Al′ma Mammo′sa, a name of Ceres.
Alphe′us, a river god. See Arethusa.
Altar. A structure on which a sacrifice was offered. The earliest altars were merely heaps of earth or turf or rough unhewn stone; but as the mode of sacrificing became more ceremonious grander altars were built. Some were of marble and brass, ornamented with carvings and bas-reliefs, and the corners with models of the heads of animals. They varied in height from two feet to four, and some were built solid; others were made hollow to retain the blood of the victims. Some were provided with a kind of dish, into which frankincense was thrown to overpower the smell of burning fat. This probably was the origin of the custom of burning incense at the altar.
Amal’thæ’a the goat which nourished Jupiter.