Python (mythology)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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In Greek mythology Python, serpent, was the earth-dragon of Delphi, always represented in sculpture and vase-paintings as a serpent. She resided at the Delphic oracle, which existed in the cult center for her mother, Gaia, Earth, Pytho being the place name. The site was considered the center of the earth, represented by a stone, the omphalos or navel, which Python guarded.
Pytho became the chthonic enemy of the later Olympian deity Apollo, who slew her and remade her former home and the oracle, the most famous in Classical Greece, as his own. (But also see, Dodona, for the earlier traditions.) Changes such as these in ancient myths may reflect a profound change in the religious concepts of the culture. Some were gradual over time and others occurred abruptly following invasion.
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