The Trojan priest Laocoon pays the price for warning his fellow-citizens against bringing the Trojan horse into the city, as monstrous serpents crush first his two sons then Laocoon himself in their coils. Not only can you follow the Latin here, you can now also hear the poets Friedrich Schiller’s fine German version in our “Other Poems” section here.

Laocoon and the snakes

Pantheon Poets continues to offer you a direct taste of spoken Latin poetry. You can follow the poems in the original whether you know Latin or not – you might for example be interested in later European writers and curious about what Latin influences meant to them. Today’s post is the final part of the story of Laocoon from Book 2 of Virgil’s Aeneid. He has warned the Trojans not to trust the wooden horse that the Greeks have left – he fears Greeks even when they bring gifts. Now, as fate and the Gods bring the fall of Troy ever closer, Laocoon pays a terrible price for his warning.