Apollo Killing the Dragon Python with his Arrows

This illustrated passage from Metamorphoses tells the victory of Apollo over the monstrous serpent Python.
Chthonian (Earth-born) monsters were believed not only to have supernatural strength and violence, but also occult knowledge or the gift of prophecy. The Dragon Python serpent is one such, and gave its name to the priestess of Apollo, the Pythia. This figure of the monster, both formidable and possessing incomparable wisdom, finds echoes in the dreaded dragons of the Terremer cycle, for example.