she saw Phoebus marking out the
place for his shrine and laying its foundations; and she spake
craftily to him, and said, "Listen to me, Phoebus Apollo. Thou seekest
here to have a home, but here thou canst never rest in peace; for my
broad plain will tempt men to the strife of battle, and the tramp of
war-horses shall vex the stillness of thy holy temple. Nay, even in
the time of peace, the lowing cattle shall come in crowds to my
fountain, and the tumult will grieve thine heart. But go thou to
Krisa, and make for thyself a home in the hidden clefts of Parnassos,
and thither shall men hasten with their gifts from the utmost bounds
of the earth." So Apollo believed her words, and he went on through
the land of the Phlegyes until he came to Krisa. There he laid the
foundations of his shrine in the deep cleft of Parnassos; and
Trophonios and Agamedes, the children of Erginos, raised the wall.
There also he found the mighty dragon who nursed Typhaon, the child of
Here, and he smote him, and said, "Rot there upon the ground, and vex
not more the children of men. The clays of thy life are ended, neither
can Typhoeus himself aid thee now, nor Chimaera of the evil name. But
the earth and the burning sun shall consume and scorch thy body." So
the dragon died, and his body rotted on the ground; wherefore the name
of the place is called Pytho, and they worship Phoebus Apollo as the
great Pythian king.

But Phoebus knew now that Telphusa had deceived him, because she said
nothing of the great dragon of Krisa, or of the roughness of the land.
So he hastened back in his anger and said, "Thou hast beguiled me,
Telphusa, with thy crafty words; but no more shall thy fountain send
forth its sweet water, and the glory shall be mine alone." Then Apollo
hurled great crags down and choked the stream near the beautiful
fountain, and the glory departed from Telphusa.

Then he thought within himself what men he should choose to be his
priests at Pytho; and far away, as he stood on the high hill, he saw a
ship sailing on the wine-faced sea, and the men who were in it were
Cretans, sailing from the land of King Minos to barter their goods
with the men of Pylos. So Phoebus leaped into the sea, and changed his
form to the form of a dolphin, and hastened to meet the ship. None
knew whence the great fish came which smote the side of their vessel
with its mighty fins; but all marveled at the sight, as the dolphin
guided the ship through the dark w