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Laocoön

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Trojan priest of Apollo who warned against accepting the Greeks' wooden horse. He and his two sons were strangled by serpents sent by Athena, silencing his prophetic warning.

Detailed Definition
Laocoön, a priest of Apollo, urged Trojans to burn the Greek horse; Athena sent serpents to kill him and his sons as punishment. His death convinced the Trojans the horse was sacred. In poetry, he represents the futility of truth in the face of collective delusion and divine manipulation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Laocoön, Trojan priest, and his sons are strangled by serpents for warning against the wooden horse in Virgil’s Aeneid; In Quintus Smyrnaeus’s Posthomerica, his death signals divine favor for Greeks; Ovid alludes to Laocoön’s agony in Metamorphoses; Renaissance art and poetry cite Laocoön as a symbol of tragic truth; Romantic verse uses Laocoön to explore divine punishment; Modern poetry references Laocoön to examine silenced warnings.
Additional Notes
Laocoön, Trojan priest who warned against the wooden horse and was killed by sea serpents (sent by Athena or Poseidon), symbolizes the cost of truth-telling; Virgil’s Aeneid dramatizes his death—his agony is iconic in art and poetry about divine wrath, misinterpretation, or the silencing of dissent.
Also Known As
Trojan Priest Serpent-Strangled Seer Laokoon
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