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The Pythian Games were one of the Panhellenic
Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at Delphi.
They were held in honour of Apollo two years after (and two years before) each
Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and Isthmian Games. They were founded sometime in the 6th century BC, and, unlike the Olympic Games, also featured competitions for music and poetry. The music
and poetry competitions pre-dated the athletic portion of the games, and were said to have been started by Apollo after he killed
Python and set up the oracle at Delphi. Otherwise, the
athletic events were the same as the Olympic Games, except that there was no four-horse chariot race.
The winners received a wreath of bay laurels from the city of Tempe in Thessaly.
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