Python (mythology) in the context of "Delphi"

In Greek mythology, Delphyne (Greek: Δελφύνη) is the name given, by some accounts, to the monstrous serpent killed by Apollo at Delphi. Although, in Hellenistic and later accounts, the Delphic monster slain by Apollo is usually said to be the male serpent Python, in the earliest known account of this story, the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (6th century BC), the god kills a nameless she-serpent (drakaina), subsequently called Delphyne. According to the Suda, Delphi was named after Delphyne.

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (/ˈliːtoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Λητώ, romanized: Lētṓ pronounced [lɛːtɔ̌ː]) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.

In the Olympian scheme, the king of gods Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, whom Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eye of Zeus. During her pregnancy, Leto sought for a place where she could give birth to Apollo and Artemis, since Hera, the wife of Zeus, in her jealousy, ordered all lands to shun her and deny her shelter. Hera is also the one to have sent the monstrous serpent Python and the giant Tityos against Leto to pursue and harm her. Leto eventually found an island, Delos, that was not joined to the mainland or attached to the ocean floor, therefore it was not considered land or island and she could give birth. In some stories, Hera further tormented Leto by delaying her labour, leaving Leto in agony for days before she could deliver the twins, who proceed to slay her assailants.

The Pythian Games (Ancient Greek: Τὰ Πύθια, romanized: Ta Pythia) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. Founded circa the 6th century BCE, the festival was held in honor of the god Apollo and took place at his sanctuary in Delphi to commemorate the mytho-historic slaying of Python and the establishment of the Oracle at Delphi. The Pythian Games took place every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and Isthmian Games. They continued until the 4th century AD.

The Pythian Games, which were ranked second in importance behind the Olympics, primarily and originally focused on competitions for art and dance. As the Pythian Games evolved over time athletic events were added and some events allowed for the participation of women.

In Greek mythology, Carmanor or Karmanor (Ancient Greek: Καρμάνωρ Karmánōr) was a Cretan priest who purified Apollo after he killed the Delphic dragon Python. He was the father of two children: Eubuleus and Chrysothemis, possibly by Demeter. According to Walter Burkert, the name Carmanor "does not appear to be Greek".

Revelation 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate. This chapter contains the accounts about the woman, the dragon, and the child, followed by the war between Michael and the dragon, then the appearance of the monster from the sea. William Robertson Nicoll, a Scottish Free Church minister, suggests that in this chapter the writer has created a Christianised version of a Jewish source which "described the birth of the Messiah in terms borrowed from ... cosmological myths [such as] that of the conflict between the sun-god and the dragon of darkness and the deep".

While others have said the passages correspond to Greco-Roman combat legends involving dragons, there are distinctions between the Python myths known during the 1st and 2nd Century CE and Revelations. According to David Barr, the Egyptian conflict of Set-Typhon who pursues the goddess Isis, is said to fit better, as the chaos creature is consistently depicted as a red animal, and attacks heaven casting down various stars and constellations.

The Castalian Spring, in the ravine between the Phaedriades at Delphi, is where all visitors to Delphi — the contestants in the Pythian Games, and especially pilgrims who came to consult the Delphic Oracle — stopped to wash themselves and quench their thirst; it is also here that the Pythia and the priests cleansed themselves before the oracle-giving process. Finally Roman poets regarded it as a source of poetic inspiration. According to some mythological versions it was here that Apollo killed the monster, Python, who was guarding the spring, and that is why it was considered to be sacred.