Hecatomb (redirected from Hekatombaia)

Hecatomb 

an ancient Greek sacrifice, originally consisting of 100 oxen; later “hecatomb” came to mean any major public sacrifice. Hecatombs were offered in Athens during the most important holiday, Panathenaea, which was celebrated during the month of Hekatombaion (late July and early August). In the figurative sense, the term “hecatomb” denotes the many victims of war, terror, an epidemic, and the like.