Laocoon, 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.

Roman - Augustan ca. 42-21 B.C.

Male nudes: Laocoon and his two sons

Attributed by Pliny to 3 Rhodian sculptors:

Agesandrus, Athenodorus, Polydorus*

Height 2.22 m.

Marble original: Vatican Museum Rome. Found on

the Esquiline Hill in 1506

Replica: Applied Arts Collection**

Logan Campbell Gallery

The Laocoon is a masterpiece of violent movement

and despair. The sculpture has a grouping

of three male nudes entangled in the coils of two

serpents and portrays the agony of the death of

Laocoon and his two sons.

The Julio-Claudian Imperial House had mythological

links with Troy, claiming descent from Aeneas,

Laocoon's nephew. According to Homer, Laocoon

was the Trojan Priest who warned against the

wooden horse. Shortly afterwards, Laocoon and

his sons were killed by two sea serpents sent by

Athena.*** The sculpture depicts the attack as it

takes place on a draped altar set on three steps

and vividly portrays the 'psychological moment'

as Laocoon and his sons fight in vain against the

inexplicable forces sent to destroy them.

The Laocoon is a typical sculpture of the Late

Republic and highlights the Hellenistic ideal of

'creating intense sculpture through the expression

of emotion and mood'. The Laocoon's composition

is spread out in one plane similar to the design of

a carved relief. The figures are set on two diagonals

from right to left and are portrayed in

twisting frontal poses with their right arms raised.

The masterly arrangement of the drapery is an

interesting design feature of the sculpture.

Bibliography and notes:

*Aristotle Politics 1.5.10,1260b1-3: Artists were

jealous of their independence.

**The plaster replica of the original marble

sculpture, was made in the cast workshop of

Brucciani's Galleria delle Belle Arti in Russell, St.

Covent Garden, London, and was purchased for

the Museum in 1878.

*** Virgil. Aeneid, ii,109 ff. The story of Laocoon

was a Homeric theme but belonged to the lost

legends of the Trojan circle. Virgil wove the

essence of the tragedy of Laocoon into his epic

poem, the Aeneid.

Education Kit

‘Ancient Greek And Roman Collections (Years 11 to 13)’

Auckland Museum Te Papa Whakahiku

© Auckland Museum 2002

Death of Laocoon and his sons

Augustan, Late Hellenistic phase ca. 42-21 B.C.

Plaster copy of the marble original

Group of male nudes: Death of Laocoon and his sons

Attributed by Pliny to Rhodian sculptors:

Agesandrus, Polydorus and Athenodorus

Height 2.22 m.

Vatican Collection, Belvedere. 74

Found on the Esquiline Hill in 1506

Applied Arts Collection