Laocoon
Laocoon was the Trojan priest who tried to warn Troy about the Wooden Horse — "I fear Greeks even bearing gifts" — and was killed by sea serpents sent by the gods.
The Legend of Laocoon
A Trojan priest of Apollo (or Poseidon), Laocoon warned the Trojans not to accept the wooden horse, hurling his spear at it and declaring that he feared Greeks bearing gifts. Athena, who favoured the Greek stratagem devised by Odysseus, sent two sea-serpents that crushed Laocoon and his sons on the altar. The Trojans, interpreting this as divine punishment for sacrilege, dragged the horse inside the walls. That night Odysseus, Diomedes, and the hidden Greeks emerged, and Troy fell. Laocoon's fate embodies the cruelty of a war Zeus himself ordained.
Parents
Acoetes (or Priam)
Children
Two sons (killed)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Laocoön sculpture (1st century BC), showing the priest and sons in the serpents' coils, is one of the most famous artworks in the Vatican.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Laocoon
🗡 heroprophecy
Trojan priest of Apollo who warned against the wooden horse and was killed with his sons by sea serpents.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroTamer of Pegasus, slayer of the Chimera
The hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and used him to slay the monstrous Chimera. His story is a cautionary tale about hubris.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroThe hero who tamed Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and slew the Chimera, but fell from heaven when he tried to reach Olympus.
Leodes
🗡 heroNone recorded
Reluctant suitor and sacrificial priest who failed to string Odysseus' bow
Amphiaraus
🗡 heroThe prophet who foresaw his own death at Thebes
A warrior-prophet who knew the Seven Against Thebes would fail but marched to his death anyway, swallowed by the earth.
Cepheus
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Aethiopia who nearly sacrificed his daughter Andromeda to a sea monster
Hippolytus
🗡 heroSon of Theseus destroyed by Aphrodite
Hippolytus was the chaste son of Theseus who rejected Aphrodite and was destroyed when his stepmother Phaedra fell in love with him.
Idomeneus
🗡 heroKing of Crete at Troy
Idomeneus was the king of Crete who led eighty ships to Troy and was among the fiercest fighters — his story continued in a vow that cost him his son.
Perseus
🗡 heroHero who slew Medusa
The son of Zeus and Danae who beheaded Medusa, rescued Andromeda, and founded the Perseid dynasty of Mycenae.
Glaucus of Corinth
🗡 heroHorses, Hybris, Divine Punishment
Corinthian king and charioteer who fed his mares on human flesh; they devoured him during the funeral games of Pelias.
Aleus
🗡 heroKingship, Arcadia
King of Tegea in Arcadia and founder of the great temple of Athena Alea
Laius
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes whose attempt to cheat fate led directly to the Oedipus tragedy