Laocoon

sculptural group The Laocoonte and his children It is a work done by the sculptors Atenodoro, Polidoro and Agesandro, from the school of Rhodes.

Laocoonte (in Greek Λαοκόων Laokóōn) is a character from Greek and Roman mythology and the epic cycle, priest of Apollo Timbreo in Troy.

Mythology

He was married to Antiopa and had two children. He was attacked, along with his two children, by giant snakes sent by the gods. Although not mentioned by Homer, the story of Laocoon was the subject of a now lost tragedy by Sophocles and was mentioned by other Greek writers, although the events surrounding the attack by the serpents vary considerably.

The most famous account of the events is in Virgil's Aeneid, in the tale of the Trojan horse, where Laocoon was a priest of Poseidon (or Neptune for the Romans), who was killed along with with his sons after attempting to expose the Trojan Horse's hoax by striking it with a spear.

Laocoon utters the famous phrase Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes "(I distrust the Danaos (Greeks) even when they bring gifts"), alerting the Trojans that it could be a trap, that inside There could be Achaean troops on the horse and he suggested burning it, but the Trojans ignored him. In his daring he threw sticks on fire to try to burn the wooden horse, at that moment two large snakes commanded by Athena, Caribea and Porce, emerge from the waters and devour his children. Distraught, he rushes to fight the snakes and is also eaten.

From Virgil's tradition it can be deduced that Laocoon's punishment is due to the desecration of trying to destroy a gift to the deity, which is why no one believed him. Another different tradition says that Laocoonte had broken the prohibition of Apollo to marry and have children. Another source adds that Laocoonte would have desecrated the image of Phoebus, when he joined in hymen in front of the image.

Representations in art

The Hellenistic sculptural ensemble

The work represented above all all the characteristics of the Hellenistic canon. First of all, the copy is carved from marble. The original work was made of bronze and was made using the lost wax technique. There is an exaggeration in the shape of the body, as can be seen in the position of Laocoon's neck being attacked by the snake and his arms trying to avoid it. Contrary to the classical style that based his works on facial neutrality, this work is endowed with a highly enhanced expressiveness, since Laocoon's expression recalls how he clings to life and the transfer from life to death. The sculptural group presents a capture of the movement in the form of a triangle. Foreshortening is used to give depth to the figure. The sculpture is a critical moment, a climax in the theme, taken directly from the myth. The different pieces fit together in harmony and fluidity. The sculptural set of the Laocoonte belongs to the school of Rhodes. Its authors were Agesandro, Polidoro de Rodas and Atenodoro. It measures 2.42 m and is currently on display in the Vatican Museums.

When the sculpture was discovered in 1506 it was purchased for Pope Julius II. His right arm was missing, so a new arm was made in an extended position. However, when the original arm was discovered in 1957, it was bent, precisely in the position that Michelangelo had proposed for the reconstruction.

The painting by El Greco

It is an oil on canvas from 1609, the final period of El Greco. In the foreground, he depicts the violent scene of the death of Laocoonte and his sons, and in the distance, a horse going to the city of Troy, for which he uses the urban landscape of Toledo.

It is kept in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Eponymy

Asteroid 3240 was named after this mythological character: "Laocoon".