It seem that the Pythian musical competitions featured strong multi-regional involvement and participation that began, if not from its very refoundation by the Amphictyonian league, than surely sometime during its first half-century of operation. The enlargement of its circle of involvement arguably resulted in a rapid evolution of the Delphic soundscape itself since the competing musicians brought with them to the Delphic stage many and diverse local musical traditions.
Another set of external evidences could support the multi-regional inclusiveness of the Pythian Games, as well as to set the stage for understanding the effect that this process had upon local musical culture. Our attention will thus turn to the diversity of musical styles commonly performed on the Pythian stage, claiming that this variety in local musical culture was dependent on Delphi`s willingness to incorporate a wide array of foreign soundscapes. Delphi was a very early adopter of musical styles, a site of musical innovation and development that …show more content…
The adaptation of lesbian kitharoidia could serve as a good example: it took only around fifty years since Terpandros created the Kitharoidic nomoi on Lesbos for the cultural taste for kitharoidia and the necessary skills required for its competitive performance to circulate far enough for the constitution of kitharoidic agon in Delphi, and for Melampos of Kephallonia to claim his victory in it. Thus, in the first Amphictyonian games, kitharoidia already was the prime musical category, claiming the highest prestige, a position it retained until the very last days of the Pythian agones. As it is, the Delphian metope of Orpheus and Philammon on top of the Argos is our first artistic representation of a human kitharoidos in Greek art. The swift