Laocoon

Laocoon

More than thirty centuries ago, where gods shared the daily life of mortal beings, lived Paris, prince of a prosperous kingdom of Asia Minor.This prince wished to espouse Helen, the world's most beautiful princess, but she was married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta.

One day, inspired by Aphrodite, Paris run away with Helen to the Troy kingdom. Menelaus quickly dispatched his powerful army to get her back.

After ten years of fruitless fights, and innumerable losses of which Achilles has been mortally wounded to the heel by a Paris' arrow, Troy remained invincible, thanks to its walls built by Poseidon. Then Odysseus, who was fighting for the Greeks, ordered to build a gigantic horse in which many warriors penetrated. After what, they feinted to abandon the horse near Trojan doors.

On Trojan public place, whereas Laocoon proposed to burn the equine sculpture, two enormous snakes intertwined him and his two sons, struggling them to death. Fearing divine reprisals, Trojans then introduced the wooden horse into the city and were soon massacred or reduced to slavery by the warriors that were in the horse. The survivors fled in Italy.

The sculpture representing anguish of Laocoon and his sons is in Vatican.

Glossary

Achilles
Greek hero, son of Thetis, the nymph of the sea. In order to make her child immortal, Thetis plunged him in Styx River by holding him by the heel, which thus became his only vulnerable part.
Aphrodite
Greek name of the goddess of love and beauty; known as Venus to Romans.
Asia Minor
Western part of Asia, in the south of the Black Sea, became Turkey in 1923. The sinuous Meander (Menderes) river traverses it.
Helen
Spouse of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Helen was the most beautiful human creature.
Laocoon
Trojan great priest of the Greek god Apollo.
Laocoon: sculpture
Rebellious Slave According to Pliny the Elder, the marble sculpture of 2,44 meters was carried out in the IInd century before our era by Rhodians Hagesandros, Polydoros and Athanadros.

Discovered in 1506, it would have inspired Michelangelo, among others, for his sculpture The Rebellious Slave (opposite left).

Menelaus
King of Sparta and spouse of Helen, the most beautiful mortal creature.
Odysseus
Odysseus in Greek - also known as Ulysses - is a Greek Hero, king of Ithaca and Penelope's spouse. His adventures began with the Trojan War and were told by Homer in his famous Odyssey.
Paris
Son of Priam, the king of Troy. Following a banquet where he preferred her to the goddesses Athena and Hera, Aphrodite granted her support to him.
Poseidon
Greek name of the god of sea; known as Neptune to Romans.
Sparta
City of ancient Greece destroyed by the Visigoths in the IVth century of our era. The modern city occupies part of ancient Sparta territory.
Troy
The town of Troy would have been destroyed towards the XIIth century before our era. Its ruins, discovered in Turkey, at the XIXth century, are composed of nine distinct archaeological layers. However, it was most prosperous at the time of Priam.

Bibliography