Laocoön and His Sons / Myth. Short summary

5 seconds

The name of the hero Lacon is familiar to those who have read the myths of Troy. A priest who paid with his life and the lives of his two sons for his wisdom. All three died in the clutches of the sea monster.

1 minute

Apollo’s priest in Troy, Laokon was one of those who opposed the idea of bringing a statue of a wooden horse into the city (besides Cassandra, who predicted terrible trouble for everyone). The only one of the Trojan crowd, he threw a spear at the statue.

The myth tells us that after this act of Laoconus, two huge serpents emerged from the sea and pounced on the priest’s sons. With his bare hands he tried to separate the snake rings. The monstrous reptiles wriggled and Laokon’s hands were wounded by their fangs, but he did not stop trying to jaw his sons. In the course of the struggle, all three died.

When the people of Troy saw this, they saw it as the wrath of the goddess Athena for striking the horse statue with a spear, for there was an inscription on one side that it was a gift to the goddess from the Greeks in gratitude for returning home. Convinced they were right, the Trojans drove the statue into the city. Troy fell.