![Laocoon Pio-Clementino Inv1059-1064-1067](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg)
Laocoön (; grc, , Laokóōn, , gen.: ), is a figure in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
and the
Epic Cycle. Laocoon was a
Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
priest. He and his two young sons were attacked by giant serpents, sent by the gods. The story of Laocoön has been the subject of numerous artists, both in ancient and in more contemporary times.
Family
Laocoön was variously called as the son of
Acoetes,
Antenor
__NOTOC__
Antenor ( grc-gre, Ἀντήνωρ, ''Antḗnōr''; BC) was an Athenian sculptor. He is recorded as the creator of the joint statues of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton funded by the Athenians on the expulsion of Hipp ...
, or
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
; or the son of
Priam and
Hecuba
Hecuba (; also Hecabe; grc, Ἑκάβη, Hekábē, ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War.
Description
Hecuba was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "da ...
.
He had two sons.
Death
![VaticanVergilFolio18vLaocoon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/VaticanVergilFolio18vLaocoon.jpg)
The most detailed description of Laocoön's grisly fate was provided by
Quintus Smyrnaeus in ''
Posthomerica
The ''Posthomerica'' ( grc-gre, τὰ μεθ᾿ Ὅμηρον, translit. ''tà meth᾿ Hómēron''; lit. "Things After Homer") is an epic poem in Greek hexameter verse by Quintus of Smyrna. Probably written in the 3rd century AD, it tells the sto ...
'', a later, literary version of events following the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
''. According to Quintus, Laocoön begged the Trojans to set fire to the
Trojan horse
The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
to ensure it was not a trick.
Athena, angry with him and the Trojans, shook the ground around Laocoön's feet and painfully blinded him. The Trojans, watching this unfold, assumed Laocoön was punished for the Trojans' mutilating and doubting
Sinon
In Greek mythology, Sinon (Ancient Greek: Σίνων, from the verb "σίνομαι"—''sinomai'', "to harm, to hurt") or Sinopos, was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War.
Family
Sinon was the son of Aesimus, son of Autolycus. He was the ...
, the undercover Greek soldier sent to convince the Trojans to let him and the horse inside their city walls. Thus, the Trojans wheeled the great wooden horse in. Laocoön did not give up trying to convince the Trojans to burn the horse.
According to one source, it was
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...
who punished Laocoön even further, by sending two giant sea serpents to strangle and kill him and his two sons. Another version of the story says that it was
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
who sent the sea serpents to kill them. And according to
Apollodorus, it was
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
who sent the two sea serpents, because Laocoön had insulted Apollo by sleeping with his wife in front of his cult statue.
Virgil used the story in the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
''. According to Virgil, Laocoön advised the Trojans to not receive the horse from the Greeks. They were taken in by the deceitful testimony of Sinon and disregarded Laocoön's advice. The enraged Laocoön threw his spear at the Horse in response.
Minerva then sent sea serpents to strangle Laocoön and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus, for his actions.
: "Laocoön, ostensibly sacrificing a bull to Neptune on behalf of the city (lines 201 ff.), becomes himself the tragic victim, as the simile (lines 223–224) makes clear. In some sense, his death must be symbolic of the city as a whole ..." — S.V. Tracy (1987)
According to the Hellenistic poet
Euphorion of Chalcis
Euphorion of Chalcis ( el, Εὐφορίων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς) was a Greek poet and grammarian, born at Chalcis in Euboea about 275 BC.
Euphorion spent much of his life in Athens, where he amassed great wealth. After studying philosophy wit ...
, Laocoön was ''actually'' punished for procreating upon holy ground sacred to Poseidon; it was only unlucky timing that caused the Trojans to misinterpret his death as punishment for striking the horse with a spear, which they bring into the city with disastrous consequences.
The episode furnished the subject of
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
' lost tragedy, ''Laocoön''.
In ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'', Virgil describes the circumstances of Laocoön's death:
:
Classical descriptions
![Laocoon MAN Napoli Inv111210](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Laocoon_MAN_Napoli_Inv111210.jpg)
The story of Laocoön is not mentioned by
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
, but it had been the subject of a tragedy, now lost, by
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
and was mentioned by other Greek writers, though the events around the attack by the serpents vary considerably. The most famous account of these is now in
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'' where Laocoön was a priest of Neptune (
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
), who was killed with both his sons after attempting to expose the ruse of the
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
by striking it with a spear.
Virgil gives Laocoön the famous line
: ''"
Equō nē crēdite, Teucrī / Quidquid id est, timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēs"''
:
This quote is the source of the saying: ''"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."''
In Sophocles, however, he was a priest of
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
who should have been celibate, but had married. The serpents killed only the two sons, leaving Laocoön himself alive to suffer. In other versions, he was killed for having committed an impiety by making love with his wife in the presence of a
cult image in a sanctuary, or simply making a sacrifice in the temple with his wife present. In this second group of versions, the snakes were sent by Poseidon
and in the first by Poseidon and
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...
, or
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
, and the deaths were interpreted by the Trojans as proof that the horse was a sacred object. The two versions have rather different morals: Laocoön was either punished for doing wrong, or for being right.
[Boardman (1993) p 199]
Later depictions
The death of Laocoön was famously depicted in a much-admired marble ''
Laocoön and His Sons
The statue of ''Laocoön and His Sons'', also called the Laocoön Group ( it, Gruppo del Laocoonte), has been one of the most famous ancient sculptures ever since it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican Museums ...
'', attributed by
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
to the
Rhodian
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the Sou ...
sculptors
Agesander,
Athenodoros, and
Polydorus
In Greek mythology, Polydorus (; grc, Πολύδωρος, i.e. "many-gift d) or Polydoros referred to several different people.
*Polydorus, son of Phineus and Cleopatra, and brother of Polydector (Polydectus). These two sons by his first wife were ...
, which stands in the
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Copies have been executed by various artists, notably
Baccio Bandinelli
Baccio Bandinelli (also called Bartolommeo Brandini; 12 November 1493 – shortly before 7 February 1560), was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, draughtsman, and painter.
Biography
Bandinelli was the son of a prominent Florentine goldsmith, ...
. These show the complete sculpture (with conjectural reconstructions of the missing pieces) and are located in
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
, at the
Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, also known as the Kastello ( gr, Καστέλο, from it, Castello, "castle"), is a medieval castle in the city of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in Greece. It is one of the few examples ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, the
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
and in front of the Archaeological Museum,
Odessa,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, amongst others. Alexander Calder also designed a stabile which he called Laocoön in 1947; it's part of the Eli and Edyth Broad collection in Los Angeles.
The marble Laocoön provided the central image for
Lessing's ''Laocoön'', 1766, an aesthetic polemic directed against
Winckelmann and the
comte de Caylus. Daniel Albright reengages the role of the figure of Laocoön in
aesthetic thought in his book ''Untwisting the Serpent: Modernism in Literature, Music, and Other Arts''.
In
Hector Berlioz's 1863 opera ''
Les Troyens'', the death of Laocoön is a pivotal moment of the first act after
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
' entrance, sung by eight singers and a double choir ("ottetto et double chœur"). It begins with the verse "Châtiment effroyable" ("frightful punishment").
* In addition to other literary references,
John Barth
John Simmons Barth (; born May 27, 1930) is an American writer who is best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include ''The Sot-Weed Factor'', a sa ...
employs a bust of Laocoön in his novella, ''The End of the Road''.
* The
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
song "Laughing" references Laocoön, rendering him female ("Laocoön and her two sons"), they also reference Laocoön in the song "Harborcoat".
* The comic book ''
Asterix and the Laurel Wreath
''Asterix and the Laurel Wreath'' (, "Caesar's Laurels") is the eighteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in the magazine'' Pilote'', issues 6 ...
'' parodies statue's pose.
* American author
Joyce Carol Oates also references Laocoön in her 1989 novel ''American Appetites''.
* In Stave V of ''
A Christmas Carol'', by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
(1843), Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning, "making a perfect Laocoon of himself with his stockings".
*
Barbara Tuchman
Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for ''The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first month of World ...
's ''The March of Folly'' begins with an extensive analysis of the Laocoön story.
* The American
feminist poet and author
Marge Piercy
Marge Piercy (born March 31, 1936) is an American progressive activist and writer. Her work includes '' Woman on the Edge of Time''; '' He, She and It'', which won the 1993 Arthur C. Clarke Award; and ''Gone to Soldiers'', a New York Times Best ...
includes a poem titled, "Laocoön is the name of the figure", in her collection ''Stone, Paper, Knife'' (1983), relating love lost and beginning.
*
John Steinbeck references Laocoön in his American literary classic ''
East of Eden'', referring to a picture of “Laocoön completely wrapped in snakes” when describing artwork hanging in classrooms at the Salinas schoolhouse.
Namesakes
*
3240 Laocoon, an asteroid named after Laocoön
Notes
Classical sources
Compiled by Tracy,
[ which includes a fragmentary line possibly by Nicander:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
]
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laocoon
Mythological Greek seers
Characters in the Aeneid
Trojans
Deeds of Apollo
Deeds of Poseidon