Laocoön

American  

[ley-ok-oh-on] / leɪˈɒk oʊˌɒn /

Or Laocoon,

noun

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.

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Laocoon British  

/ leɪˈɒkəʊˌɒn /

noun

1. Greek myth a priest of Apollo at Troy who warned the Trojans against the wooden horse left by the Greeks; killed with his twin sons by two sea serpents

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Laocoon Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, Laocoon was a priest in Troy during the Trojan War (see also 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.

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Example Sentences

On Aug. 18, Viero and Goffi entered the Vatican Museums and glued their hands to the base of Laocoon statue, one of the most important ancient statues in the collection that is believed to date from the 1st century B.C., and hung up a banner reading: “Last Generation: No gas and no carbon.”

From Seattle Times

Last Generation has said it had targeted the Laocoon statue, which is believed to have been carved in Rhodes in 40-30 B.C., because of the symbolic story behind it.

From Seattle Times

The Laocoon statue, believed to have been carved in ancient Greece around 40 to 30 B.C., depicts an ill-fated Trojan priest, whose warnings to his countrymen against accepting a horse gifted by the Greeks went unheeded.

From Washington Post

Last Generation said the group targeted the Laocoon statue, which is believed to have been carved in Rhodes in 40-30 B.C., because of the symbolic story behind it.

From Seattle Times

According to legend and the Vatican Museums’ own website, Laocoon warned his fellow Trojans against accepting the wooden horse left by the Greeks during the Trojan War.

From Seattle Times