Pythian Games

In ancient Greece, one of the main Pan-Hellenic festivals, held every four years in the sanctuary of Apollo Pythios at Delphi. ‘Pythios’ or ‘python slayer’ was the name under which Apollo was worshipped there.

The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.

They were held in honour of Apollo two years after (and two years before) each Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and Isthmian Games. They were founded sometime in the 6th century BC, and, unlike the Olympic Games, also featured competitions for music and poetry. The music and poetry competitions pre-dated the athletic portion of the games, and were said to have been started by Apollo after he killed Python and set up the oracle at Delphi.