Greek term (edited): holento

Re-reading your sentence and connecting it to the crucifixion subject (and thanks largely to my hubby who is a theology minor) we came up that the word is probably the past tense of the verb όλλυμαι, which means to perish.

See here :
ʼόλοντο -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <ʼόλλυμαι> perish -- they perished

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Note added at 55 mins (2004-04-09 19:58:15 GMT)
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G622 ἀπόλλυμι apollumi
From G575 and the base of G3639; to destroy fully (reflexively to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: - destroy, die, lose, mar, perish. (E-Sword)
Hence your word in Greek would be απώλλυτο (and not επώλλυτο as you quote). Imperfect Tense of the verb ἀπόλλυμι meaning perish.

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Note added at 1 hr 0 min (2004-04-09 20:03:05 GMT)
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Concerning the word \"speiran\" this is what I found
G4686 σπεῖρα speira spi\'-rah
Of immediate Latin origin, but ultimately a derivative of G138 in the sense of its cognate, G1507; a coil (spira, “spire”), that is, (figuratively) a mass of men (a Roman military cohort; also [by analogy] a squad of Levitical janitors): - band. (E-Sword)

Without the exact phrase in either KJV or the Greek (not transliterated) it is difficult to give you a 100% correct translation. What we can do is break it down and give you a word by word translation. So if the aforementioned translations are correct then your \"epholento speiran\" would be that \"they died by the mob\" (where mob=mass of people)

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Note added at 1 hr 25 mins (2004-04-09 20:28:38 GMT)
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ἀπόλλυμι : to put to death
Mar. i:24 / Rom. xiv:15 / Math. x:42 / John vi:39
(Source for this : Interlinear Greek - English New Testament by Berry, George PhD - Zordevan Publications)

The only other really remote case that I can see (but one not related to the crucifixion) is that of Απολλύων (Απολλύοντος) which us a past participle of that same verb and it is used in Revelation ix:II as Apollyon. That carries also the \"perish by a mass of...\"

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Note added at 3 hrs 16 mins (2004-04-09 22:19:36 GMT)
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us = is

For the Apollyon version see :
destroyer, the name given to the king of the hosts represented by the locusts (Rev. 9:11). It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Abaddon (q.v.). http://www.jesuscaresaboutyou.org/ebd/T0000200.html
a beast found in the bible known as the \'Destroyer\' and the angel of the bottomless pit. He is described as being “hideous to behold, with scales like a fish, wings like a dragon, bear’s feet, and a lion’s mouth.” .. .. .. .. .. ... . http://starfyre13.tripod.com/draconis.htm