[ley-ok-oh-on] 
| 1. | Classical Mythology. a priest of Apollo at Troy who warned the Trojans of the Trojan Horse, and who, with his two sons, was killed by two huge serpents sent by Athena or Apollo. |
| 2. | (italics ) a late 2nd-century b.c. representation in marble of Laocoön and his sons struggling with the serpents: attributed to Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus of Rhodes. |
| La·oc·o·on (lā-ŏk'ō-ŏn') n. Greek Mythology A Trojan priest of Apollo who was killed along with his two sons by two sea serpents for having warned his people of the Trojan horse. |
In classical mythology, Laocoon was a priest in Troy during the Trojan War. When the Trojans discovered the Trojan horse outside their gates, Laocoon warned against bringing it into the city, remarking, “I am wary of Greeks even when they are bringing gifts.” (See “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”) The god Poseidon, who favored the Greeks, then sent two enormous snakes after Laocoon. The creatures coiled themselves around the priest and his two sons, crushing them to death. Some sources say Athena sent the snakes.