Laomedon
heroKing of Troy who cheated both Apollo and Poseidon of their wages and set the pattern of Trojan oath-breaking.
The Myth
He cheated two gods out of their wages — and cursed his city for generations. Zeus sentenced Apollo and Poseidon to serve Laomedon as mortals. Apollo tended his cattle while Poseidon built the walls of Troy. When the work was done, Laomedon refused to pay. Poseidon sent a sea monster; Apollo sent a plague. An oracle demanded Laomedon sacrifice his daughter Hesione. Heracles killed the monster and saved her, but Laomedon cheated him too, withholding the promised divine horses. Heracles returned with an army and sacked Troy the first time, killing all of Laomedon's sons except Priam. Troy's doom was not caused by Paris — it was inherited from Laomedon.
Parents
Ilus
Symbols
Explore Further
Hesione
heroTrojan princess chained to a rock as sacrifice to a sea monster, rescued by Heracles, then given to...
Priam
heroPriam was the aged king of Troy, father of fifty sons including Hector and Paris, whose night...
Tithonus
heroTrojan prince beloved by Eos who was granted immortality but not eternal youth, aging endlessly...
Poseidon
godLord of the seas and brother of Zeus. Poseidon's moods shaped the oceans — calm seas for those who...
Poseidon (Earth-Shaker)
godPoseidon was the god of the sea and earthquakes whose moods determined whether sailors lived or...
Agamemnon
heroAgamemnon led the Greek coalition against Troy but was murdered upon return by his wife...
Heracles
heroThe greatest hero of Greek mythology, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Famous for his...
Heracles (Labours)
heroHeracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labours as penance for killing his family in a...
Paris
heroParis was the Trojan prince whose judgement of three goddesses and abduction of Helen ignited the...
Trojan War
conceptThe Trojan War was the central event of Greek mythology — a ten-year siege of Troy by a Greek...
Ganymede (Abduction)
heroMost beautiful mortal boy, abducted by Zeus (as an eagle) to serve as cupbearer of the gods on...
Telamon
heroKing of Salamis, Argonaut, companion of Heracles, and father of Ajax the Great and Teucer.