ἔοικε δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸ ἱερὸν τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων ἐπιβεβουλεῦσθαι πλείστων ἤδη. οὗτός τε ὁ Εὐβοεὺς λῃστὴς καὶ ἔτεσιν ὕστερον τὸ ἔθνος τὸ Φλεγυῶν, ἔτι δὲ Πύρρος ὁ Ἀχιλλέως ἐπεχείρησεν αὐτῷ, καὶ δυνάμεως μοῖρα τῆς Ξέρξου, καὶ οἱ χρόνον τε ἐπὶ πλεῖστον καὶ μάλιστα τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς χρήμασιν ἐπελθόντες οἱ ἐν Φωκεῦσι δυνάσται, καὶ ἡ Γαλατῶν στρατιά. ἔμελλε δὲ ἄρα οὐδὲ τῆς Νέρωνος ἐς πάντα ὀλιγωρίας ἀπειράτως ἕξειν, ὃς τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα πεντακοσίας θεῶν τε ἀναμὶξ ἀφείλετο καὶ ἀνθρώπων εἰκόνας χαλκᾶς.
ἀρχαιότατον δὲ ἀγώνισμα γενέσθαι μνημονεύουσι καὶ ἐφʼ ᾧ πρῶτον ἆθλα ἔθεσαν, ᾆσαι ὕμνον ἐς τὸν θεόν· καὶ ᾖσε καὶ ἐνίκησεν ᾄδων Χρυσόθεμις ἐκ Κρήτης, οὗ δὴ ὁ πατὴρ λέγεται Καρμάνωρ καθῆραι Ἀπόλλωνα. Χρυσοθέμιδος δὲ ὕστερον Φιλάμμωνά τε ᾠδῇ μνημονεύουσι νικῆσαι καὶ ἐπʼ ἐκείνῳ Θάμυριν τὸν Φιλάμμωνος. Ὀρφέα δὲ σεμνολογίᾳ τῇ ἐπὶ τελεταῖς καὶ ὑπὸ φρονήματος τοῦ ἄλλου καὶ Μουσαῖον τῇ ἐς πάντα μιμήσει τοῦ Ὀρφέως οὐκ ἐθελῆσαί φασιν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ ἀγῶνι μουσικῆς ἐξετάζεσθαι.
φασὶ δὲ καὶ Ἐλευθῆρα ἀνελέσθαι Πυθικὴν νίκην μέγα καὶ ἡδὺ φωνοῦντα, ἐπεὶ ᾄδειν γε αὐτὸν οὐχ αὑτοῦ τὴν ᾠδήν. λέγεται δὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδον ἀπελαθῆναι τοῦ ἀγωνίσματος ἅτε οὐ κιθαρίζειν ὁμοῦ τῇ ᾠδῇ δεδιδαγμένον. Ὅμηρος δὲ ἀφίκετο μὲν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἐρησόμενος ὁπόσα καὶ ἐδεῖτο, ἔμελλε δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ κιθαρίζειν διδαχθέντι ἀχρεῖον τὸ μάθημα ὑπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τῆς συμφορᾶς γενήσεσθαι.
τῆς δὲ τεσσαρακοστῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος καὶ ὀγδόης, ἣν Γλαυκίας ὁ Κροτωνιάτης ἐνίκησε, ταύτης ἔτει τρίτῳ ἆθλα ἔθεσαν οἱ Ἀμφικτύονες κιθαρῳδίας μὲν καθὰ καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, προσέθεσαν δὲ καὶ αὐλῳδίας ἀγώνισμα καὶ αὐλῶν· ἀνηγορεύθησαν δὲ νικῶντες Κεφαλήν τε Μελάμπους κιθαρῳδίᾳ καὶ αὐλῳδὸς Ἀρκὰς Ἐχέμβροτος, Σακάδας δὲ Ἀργεῖος ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐλοῖς· ἀνείλετο δὲ ὁ Σακάδας οὗτος καὶ ἄλλας δύο τὰς ἐφεξῆς ταύτης πυθιάδας.
ἔθεσαν δὲ καὶ ἆθλα τότε ἀθληταῖς πρῶτον, τά τε ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πλὴν τεθρίππου καὶ αὐτοὶ νομοθετήσαντες δολίχου καὶ διαύλου παισὶν εἶναι δρόμον. δευτέρᾳ δὲ πυθιάδι οὐκ ἐπὶ ἄθλοις ἐκάλεσαν ἔτι ἀγωνίζεσθαι, στεφανίτην δὲ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἀπὸ τούτου κατεστήσαντο· καὶ αὐλῳδίαν τότε κατέλυσαν, καταγνόντες οὐκ εἶναι τὸ ἄκουσμα εὔφημον· ἡ γὰρ αὐλῳδία μέλη τε ἦν αὐλῶν τὰ σκυθρωπότατα καὶ ἐλεγεῖα προσᾳδόμενα τοῖς αὐλοῖς.
μαρτυρεῖ δέ μοι καὶ τοῦ Ἐχεμβρότου τὸ ἀνάθημα, τρίπους χαλκοῦς ἀνατεθεὶς τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ τῷ ἐν Θήβαις· ἐπίγραμμα δὲ ὁ τρίπους εἶχεν· Ἐχέμβροτος Ἀρκὰς θῆκε τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ / νικήσας τόδʼ ἄγαλμʼ Ἀμφικτυόνων ἐν ἀέθλοις, / Ἕλλησι δʼ ἀείδων μέλεα καὶ ἐλέγους. / κατὰ τοῦτο μὲν τῆς αὐλῳδίας ἐπαύσθη τὸ ἀγώνισμα· προσέθεσαν δὲ καὶ ἵππων δρόμον, ἀνηγορεύθη δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ ἅρματι Κλεισθένης ὁ Σικυῶνος τυραννήσας.
ὀγδόῃ δὲ πυθιάδι προσενομοθέτησαν κιθαριστὰς τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν κρουμάτων τῶν ἀφώνων· καὶ Τεγεάτης ἐστεφανοῦτο Ἀγέλαος. τρίτῃ δὲ πυθιάδι ἐπὶ ταῖς εἴκοσι προστιθέασιν ὁπλίτην δρόμον· καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ Τιμαίνετος ἐκ Φλιοῦντος ἀνείλετο τὴν δάφνην, Ὀλυμπιάσιν ὕστερον πέντε ἢ Δαμάρετος Ἡραιεὺς ἐνίκησεν. ὀγδόῃ δὲ ἐπὶ τεσσαράκοντα πυθιάδι καὶ συνωρίδος εἶναι κατεστήσαντο δρόμον· καὶ Ἐξηκεστίδου Φωκέως ἐνίκησεν ἡ συνωρίς. πέμπτῃ δὲ πυθιάδι ἀπὸ ταύτης πώλους ἔζευξαν ὑπὸ ἅρματι· καὶ παρέδραμεν Ὀρφώνδα Θηβαίου τέθριππον.
παγκράτιον δʼ ἐν παισὶ καὶ συνωρίδα τε πώλων καὶ πῶλον κέλητα πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν ὕστερον κατεδέξαντο Ἠλείων, τὸ μὲν πρώτῃ πυθιάδι ἐπὶ ταῖς ἑξήκοντα, καὶ Ἰολαΐδας ἐνίκα Θηβαῖος· διαλιπόντες δὲ ἀπὸ ταύτης μίαν κέλητι ἔθεσαν δρόμον πώλῳ, ἐνάτῃ δὲ ἐπὶ ταῖς ἑξήκοντα συνωρίδι πωλικῇ, καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τῷ πώλῳ τῷ κέλητι Λυκόρμας ἀνηγορεύθη Λαρισαῖος, Πτολεμαῖος δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ συνωρίδι Μακεδών· ἔχαιρον γὰρ δὴ Μακεδόνες οἱ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καλούμενοι βασιλεῖς, καθάπερ γε ἦσαν. δάφνης δὲ στέφανος ἐπὶ τῶν Πυθίων τῇ νίκῃ κατʼ ἄλλο μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἐστιν οὐδέν, ὅτι δὲ τῆς Λάδωνος θυγατρὸς Ἀπόλλωνα ἐρασθῆναι κατέσχηκεν ἡ φήμη.
It seems that from the beginning the sanctuary at Delphi has been the object of innumerable plots. Thus it was attempted by the Euboean robber whom I have mentioned above, and some years afterwards it was attempted by the Phlegyan race; also by Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, by a division of the army of Xerxes, by the Phocian chiefs (whose attacks on the treasures of the god were the most prolonged and determined), and by the Gallic host. It was destined, too, not to escape the all-comprehensive disdain of Nero, who robbed Apollo of five hundred bronze statues of gods and men together.
They say that the most ancient contest and the one for which prizes were first offered, was the singing of a hymn in honour of the god. Chrysothemis of Crete sang and won the prize: it was his father Carmanor who is said to have purified Apollo. After Chrysothemis, they say that Philammon won the prize for singing, and after him his son Thamyris. But Orpheus, they say, gave himself such airs on account of the mysteries, and was altogether so proud that he would not enter the lists; and Musaeus, who laid himself out to copy Orpheus, followed his example. They say that Eleuther won a Pythian victory by his strong sweet voice alone, for the song was not his own. It is said, too, that Hesiod was excluded from the competition because he had not learned to accompany himself on the lyre. Homer came to Delphi to inquire of the oracle; but even if he had learned to play the lyre, the loss of his sight would have rendered the accomplishment useless.
In the third year of the forty-eighth Olympiad, in which Glaucias of Crotona was victorious, the Amphictyons offered prizes for minstrelsy as hitherto, and added competitions in flute-playing both with and without the accompaniment of the voice. The victors proclaimed were Melampus, a Cephallenian, in minstrelsy ; Echembrotus, an Arcadian, in singing to the flute; and Sacadas, an Argive, in flute-playing. This same Sacadas was also victorious in the next two Pythiads. On the same occasion they for the first time offered prizes for athletes, the events being the same as at Olympia, except the four-horse chariot-race: they also added foot-races for boys in the long and the double courses. But in the second Pythiad the prizes were discontinued, and crowns were substituted. They also discontinued the singing to the flute, because they deemed the music was inauspicious. For the tunes were most doleful, and the words sung to them were dirges. This is proved by the votive-offering of Echembrotus: it is a bronze tripod dedicated to Hercules at Thebes, and bears this inscription :— Echembrotus, an Arcadian, dedicated to Hercules This pleasing gift for a victory which he gained at the games of the Amphictyons, Singing tunes and dirges to the Greeks. So the contest in singing to the flute was discontinued. But they added a chariot-race, and the victor was Clisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon. In the eighth Pythiad they added a competition in playing on the lyre, unaccompanied by the voice; and Agelaus of Tegea was crowned. In the twenty-third Pythiad they added a race in armour, and in it Timaenetus of Phlius won the laurel, five Olympiads after the victory of Damaretus of Heraea. In the forty-eighth Pythiad they instituted a race for two-horse chariots, and the chariot of Execestides, a Phocian, was victorious. In the fifth Pythiad afterwards they instituted a race for chariots drawn by foals, and the chariot of Orphondas, a Theban, distanced all competitors. A pancratium for boys, a race for chariots drawn by pairs of foals, and a foal-race, were borrowed many years later from the Eleans. The first was instituted in the sixty-first Pythiad, and Iolaidas of Thebes was the victor. At the next Pythiad but one they introduced the foal-race, and in the sixty-ninth Pythiad they established the race for chariots drawn by pairs of foals. In the foal-race Lycormas of Larisa was declared victor, and in the race for chariots drawn by pairs of foals the winner was Ptolemy, the Macedonian ; for the kings of Egypt loved to be Macedonians, as indeed they were.
The reason why the prize for a Pythian victory is a laurel wreath, seems to me to be simply the common story that Apollo loved the daughter of Ladon.
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