The Pythian Games were held at Delphi in honor of Apollo and in remembrance of the extermination of the dragon Python by the Olympian god. Initially the games were musical, with the eulogy and the pantomime added later on. In the 4th century B.C. dithyrambic and dramatic competitions were held and only towards the end of that century, when the Amphictyonic League took control of the sanctuary, were the athletic events added.
The Pythian Games were closely associated with the temple of Delphi, to which worshipers flooded from all over the known world. The Games were held in the summer of the third year after the Olympic games, and the winners were crowned with a laurel wreath.
