The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Python (mythology)

PYTHON, in Greek mythology, was the son of Gæa, an enormous serpent which was produced from the mud after the flood of Deucalion. It lived in a cave on Mount Parnassus and was slain a few days after its birth by Apollo. Python really represents the fogs and vapor-clouds which arise from ponds and marshes and are dispersed by Apollo with his shafts — the rays of the sun. Consult Pascal, C., ‘Studii di antichità e mitologia’ (1896).