Laocoön (; , ), the son of
Acoetes, is a figure in
Greek and
Roman mythology and the
Epic Cycle. He was a
Trojan priest who was attacked, with his two sons, by giant serpents sent by the gods. Though not mentioned by
Homer, the story of Laocoön had been the subject of a tragedy, now lost, by
Sophocles and was mentioned by other Greek writers, though the events around the attack by the serpents vary considerably. The most famous account of these is now in
Virgil's
Aeneid where Laocoön was a priest of
Poseidon (or
Neptune for the Romans), who was killed with both his sons after attempting to expose the ruse of the
Trojan Horse by striking it with a spear. Virgil gives Laocoön the famous line "
Equo ne credite, Teucri / Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes", or "Do not trust the Horse, Trojans / Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts." This line is the source of the saying: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."