Why is this loop heavy code so slow in Python? Possible Project Euler spoilers

["Martin v. Löwis"]

>> (2) it is a interpretation language
> Not quite. It's compiled to byte-code - just like Java (would you call
> Java an 'interpreted language' ?)

Python is not implemented like Java. In Java (at least in HotSpot),
the byte code is further compiled to machine code before execution;
in Python, the byte code is interpreted.

Whether this makes Python an interpreter or a compiler,
I don't know.

Regards,
Martin