2. At Ismarus, the ἄλσος of Apollo, in which dwelt Maron the priest,
Od. ix. 200.
3. In Ithaca, the ἄλσος of the Nymphs, with an altar, beside the
fountain, where all passers-by offered sacrifice, Od. xvii. 205-11.
4. In Ithaca again, the ἄλσος of Apollo, where public sacrifice was
performed in the city on his feast-day, Od. xx. 277, 8.
5. In Bœotia, Onchestus is called the ἄγλαον ἄλσος of Neptune, Il. ii.
506.
6. The ἄλσεα of Persephone are on the beach beyond Oceanus, and are
composed of poplars and willows, Od. x. 509.
7. In the great Assembly of gods before the Theomachy, all the Nymphs
are summoned, who inhabit ἄλσεα as well as fountains and meadows, Il.
xx. 8. But here the meaning includes any grove, dedicated or not. And
again,
8. The attendants of Circe are such as inhabit ἄλσεα, groves, or
fountains, or rivers, Od. x. 350.
Thus the ἄλσος, when used in the religious sense, means a grove or
clump of trees, sometimes with turf, or with a fountain; set apart
as a place for worship, and inhabited by a deity or his ministers,
yet quite distinct from a property capable of supporting them. These
clumps appear to be so appropriated more commonly by Hellenic, than by
Pelasgian practice.
~_As to statues of the gods._~