In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most
important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the
worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python, a dragon who lived
there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python (derived from the
verb pythein, "to rot") is claimed by some to be the original name of
the site in recognition of the Python that Apollo defeated. The Homeric
Hymn to Delphic Apollo recalled that the ancient name of this site had
been Krisa.
Apollo's sacred precinct in Delphi was a panhellenic
sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 776 BC athletes from all
over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, one of the four
panhellenic (or stephanitic) games, precursors of the Modern Olympics.
The victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown (stephanos)
which was ceremonially cut from a tree by a boy who re-enacted the
slaying of the Python. Delphi was set apart from the other games sites
because it hosted the mousikos agon, musical competitions.
These
Pythian Games rank second among the four stephanitic games
chronologically and based on importance. These games, though, were
different from the games at Olympia in that they were not of such vast
importance to the city of Delphi as the games at Olympia were to the
area surrounding Olympia. Delphi would have been a renowned city whether
or not it hosted these games; it had other attractions that led to it
being labeled the "omphalos" (navel) of the earth, in other words, the
center of the world.
In the inner hestia ("hearth") of the Temple of
Apollo, an eternal flame burned. After the battle of Plataea, the Greek
cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of
Greece, at Delphi; in the foundation stories of several Greek colonies,
the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi
