Python

📷 Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Artus Quellinus the Elder — 1609

MythologyBefore ChristArchaic Greek Mythology

A massive serpent-dragon of Greek mythology, guardian of the sanctuary of Delphi. Slain by the god Apollo, who seized the site and established the famous oracle there. Its name was given to the Pythia, the prophetic priestess of Apollo.

Key Facts

Python guarded the sanctuary of Delphi, a sacred site considered the center of the Greek world
According to some versions of the myth, it was born from the mud left behind by the Great Flood
Apollo slew it with his silver arrows in order to claim the oracular site
The Pythian Games were established in commemoration of Apollo's victory
The name 'Pythia' given to the priestess of Delphi and the word 'python' (the snake) both derive directly from its name

Works & Achievements

Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo (7th–6th century BCE)

A foundational text that narrates in detail Apollo's slaying of Python and the founding of the oracle at Delphi. It is the most complete archaic Greek source on this myth.

Pythian Odes by Pindar (~498–446 BCE)

Lyric odes composed for the Pythian Games at Delphi, which regularly invoke the founding myth of Python. They attest to the importance of this narrative in Greek civic culture.

Metamorphoses by Ovid (Book I) (8 CE)

Ovid offers the most developed Latin version of the myth: Python is born from the mud left by the Great Flood and is slain by a youthful, triumphant Apollo. This text ensured the myth's transmission through the Renaissance.

Library by Apollodorus (2nd century CE)

A Greek mythographic compilation presenting the version in which Hera sends Python to pursue Leto. This text is an essential source for the various traditions surrounding the myth.

Fabulae by Hyginus (Fabulae 53 and 140) (1st–2nd century CE)

A collection of Latin myths that introduces oracular motivations for Python: the serpent knew of the prophecy foretelling its death and sought to escape it. These variants enrich the interpretation of the myth.

Apollo and Python (black-figure vase paintings) (6th–5th century BCE)

Numerous depictions on Attic ceramics showing Apollo armed with his bow facing the serpent. These works attest to the myth's popularity in classical Greek art.

Anecdotes

Python is said to have been born from the slime and mud left on earth after the Great Flood sent by Zeus. This chthonic origin, tied to the depths of the earth, explains why the Greeks regarded it as a primordial creature, older than the Olympian gods themselves.

According to some versions of the myth, Python had been tasked by Hera with pursuing Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, to prevent her from giving birth. In this version, Python is not merely a monster, but an instrument of divine jealousy.

Apollo, still very young according to the myth, slew Python with golden arrows when he was only four days old. The ancients saw in this story the triumph of light, reason, and orderly prophecy over the dark and chaotic forces of the earth.

Python's remains were buried beneath the omphalos, the sacred stone symbolizing the center of the world at Delphi. To atone for killing a creature connected to Gaia, Apollo had to undergo purification, and funeral games were established in the serpent's honor: the Pythian Games, held every four years.

The Greek word 'python' originally referred to a large snake capable of crushing its prey. It was not until much later, in the modern era, that zoologists gave the same name to the family of large constrictor snakes, in direct homage to the mythological monster.

Primary Sources

Homeric Hymn to Apollo (7th–6th century BCE)

There you slew with your mighty arrows the fierce dragon, great and fat, who ravaged the flocks of men on those sacred mountains. Having slain it, Phoebus Apollo boasted, saying: 'Now rot upon the earth that nourishes men.'

Pindar, Pythian Odes, I (c. 470 BCE)

Apollo slew the fearsome dragon Python with his golden arrows and seized the prophetic cave of Delphi, thus founding the most celebrated sanctuary in the Greek world.

Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book I (c. 8 CE)

Python, that great new serpent, held the slopes of Mount Parnassus and spread terror among the peoples. Apollo struck it down with his arrows — a weapon unknown to him until then — and emptied nearly his entire quiver.

Apollodorus, Library, I (2nd century CE)

Hera sent Python to pursue the pregnant Leto across the whole world. When Apollo was born, he avenged his mother by killing Python at Delphi, on Mount Parnassus.

Hyginus, Fabulae, CXLV (1st–2nd century CE)

Python the serpent had received an oracle from Themis foretelling that he would perish at the hands of Leto's children. For this reason he persecuted the goddess. But Apollo slew him.

Key Places

Delphi (Sanctuary of Apollo)

The central site of the myth: Python was its guardian before Apollo slew it and founded what became the most famous oracle in the Greek world. The site is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mount Parnassus

The mountain range towering above Delphi, on whose slopes Python was said to dwell according to myth. Parnassus was considered a sacred place of Apollo and the Muses.

Castalia (Sacred Spring of Delphi)

A spring rising at the foot of Parnassus, used by pilgrims to purify themselves before consulting the oracle. It was associated both with the Muses and with the sacred precinct of Apollo.

Pleistos Valley

The deep valley at the foot of Delphi where, according to some local traditions, Python roamed the territory it had been charged with guarding on behalf of the goddess Gaia.

Delos

The island where Leto, mother of Apollo, is said to have finally given birth after fleeing the persecution of Python, sent by Hera. It is the mythical birthplace of Apollo.