after the group in the Belvedere Courtyard of the "Musei Vaticani", Rome, the priest with bearded head inclined to sinester, and raised on a waisted socle,

Laoccon was a Trojan Priest who warned the Trojans not to accept the Greek Wooden Horse. He inserted his spear into one side of the Trojan Horse to see if it was empty. In order to prevent Laocoon discovering the Greek warriors inside, Poseidon and Athena sent two serpents that killed him and his sons. The original antique scultural group featuring the agonoised and tortured figure caught by the writhing snakes and accompanied by his diminutive sons was found in Rome on 13th January 1506 near the site of Nearus Domus Aurea. Its discovery was cause for huge celebration and the group was transported to the Vatican. Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to examine it. A missing fragment was found in 1957.