| Sumario: | The cult of Apollo Pythios in this city, therefore, extended beyond prophecy to political affairs.[51] The areas of action of Apollo Pythios on Karthaia, therefore, transcended the configurations that are presented on Delphi. Sometimes, a powerful cult centre sponsored the spread of a cult beyond the boundaries of the original local sanctuary; in the case of Apollo Pythios, this centre would have been Delphi.[41] While the four Kean cities were autonomous at the time the cults of Apollo Pythios were established, a command from the oracle to the Keans collectively may have played a role. Such a link between Apollo Pythios and Athena is attested nowhere else in the Cyclades,[66] though there were cults of Apollo Pythios as well as Athena on Paros, Anaphe, Delos, and Sikinos.[67] There was, however, a precedent for this link at Delphi, where the sanctuary of Apollo Pythios was near the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia (frequently referred to by its modern name, Marmaria). This case study of the significance of the cult of Apollo Pythios on the Cycladic island of Kea has explored the meaning and significance of the veneration of the god under this epiclesis beyond the primary sanctuary at Delphi.
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