Apellai (Greek: ἀπέλλαι), was a three-day family-festival of the Northwest Greeks similar with the Ionic Apaturia, which was dedicated to Apollo (Doric form:Ἀπέλλων).The fest was spread in Greece by the Dorians as it is proved by the use of the month Apellaios (Ἀπελλαῖος or Ἀπελλαιών in Ionic Tenos). The word is derived from the Doric word apella (ἀπέλλα), which originally meant wall, fence for animals and later assembly of people within the limits of the square. Apella was the popular assembly of Sparta, which corresponds to the ecclesia, in other Greek city-states.