 Smaller versions of the Pythian Games were celebrated in many other cities of the Levant and Greece.Of the 45 poems composed by the Theban poet Pindar in honor of winners at the Panhellenic games, 12 were called "Pythionikoi", since they were composed for winners at the Pythian Games.In those poems, Pindar praises not only the victors, but also their families, as well as the aristocratic and athletic ideals of the late archaic period.