LAOCOON, in fabulous history, a son of Priam and Hecuba, or, according to others, of Antenor or of Capys. Being priest of Apollo, he was commissioned by the Trojans to offer a bullock to Neptune, in order to render him propitious. During the sacrifice two enormous serpents issued from the sea, and attacked Laocoön's two sons who stood next to the altar. The father immediately attempted to defend his sons; but the serpents falling upon him, squeezed him in their complicated coils, and he died in the greatest agony. This punishment was said to have been inflicted upon him for dissuading the Trojans from bringing into the city the fatal wooden horse which the Greeks had consecrated to Minerva, as also for his impiety in hurling a javelin against the sides of the horse as it entered within the walls. According to Hyginus, he suffered this punishment for his marriage against the consent of Apollo, or, according to others, for his polluting the temple, by his commerce with his wife Antiope before the statue of the god.