The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress.

The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress.

Its logo features the letters FCB, from its motto, with the colors blue, yellow, and red on an inverted triangle.

[4]: 184 A member must be at least 18 years of age, and must take the following oath: I declare upon honor that I believe in a Supreme Being, that I am not a professional gambler, or unlawfully engaged in the wholesale or retail sale of intoxicating liquors or narcotics, and that I believe in the maintenance of the order and the upholding of constituted authority in the government in which I live.

Moreover, I declare upon honor that I am not a Communist or Fascist; that I do not advocate nor am I a member of any organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the Country of which I am a Citizen, by force or violence or other unlawful means; and that I do not seek by force or violence to deny to other persons their rights under the laws of such country.

It has sponsored scholarship funds, blood drives, highway safety programs, and the Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation.

[4]: 185 After a black lodge was denied a charter by the Knights of Pythias' Supreme Lodge meeting in Richmond, Virginia on March 8, 1869, a number of black Americans who had been initiated into the order formed their own Pythian group, the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

The march sheet music, which was published in London, Ontario, by C. F. Colwell, c. 1876, was illustrated with the Knights of Pythias emblem and Latin motto Amico Fidus ad Aras or, in English, "True friends are a refuge".

After this ruling was reiterated at the Supreme Lodges of 1894 and 1895, a number of German-speaking Pythians split off and formed the Improved Order, Knights of Pythias at a convention in Indianapolis in June 1895.

[42] In the Marx Brothers movie Animal Crackers, Groucho, as the character Captain Spaulding, reports on his recent big game hunting trip to Africa.