The struggle of Apollo with Pythonus, the foundation of the Delphic Oracle

Young, radiant Apollorushed across the azure sky with a kithara in his hands, with a silver bow on his shoulders; golden arrows rang loudly in his quiver. Proud, exultant, Apollo was rushing high above the earth, threatening everything evil, everything generated by darkness. He aspired to where grozny lived Python, who pursued his mother Laton; he wanted to take revenge on him for all the evil that he had caused her.

Apollo quickly reached the gloomy gorge, the dwelling of Python. Rocks towered all around, going high into the sky. Darkness reigned in the gorge. A mountain stream, gray with foam, was rushing rapidly along its bottom, and mists were swirling over the stream. The terrible Python crawled out of his lair. His huge body, covered with scales, twisted between the rocks in countless rings. Rocks and mountains trembled from the weight of his body and shifted from place to place. The furious Python betrayed everything to desolation, he spread death all around. The nymphs and all living things fled in terror. Python rose, mighty, furious, opened his terrible mouth and was ready to swallow the golden-haired Apollo. Then there was a ringing of the bowstring of a silver bow, like a spark, a golden arrow that knows no mistake flashed in the air, followed by another, a third; arrows rained down on Python, and he fell lifeless to the ground. The triumphant victory song (paan) of the golden-haired Apollo, the victor of Python, sounded loudly, and the golden strings of the god's kithara echoed it. Apollo buried the body of Pythonus in the ground where the sacred Delphi stands, and founded a sanctuary and an oracle in Delphi in order to prophesy to people the will of his father Zeus.

From a high shore far out to sea, Apollo saw a Cretan sailors' ship. Under the guise of a dolphin, he rushed into the blue sea, overtook the ship and took off like a radiant star from the sea waves to its stern. Apollo brought the ship to the marina of the city Chris and led Cretan sailors through a fertile valley, playing on golden kithara, in Delphi. He made them the first priests of his sanctuary.