For those not familiar with Laocoon, he was a hero from greek and roman stories, most famously written about in Virgil's Aeneid. He recognized the Trojan Horse as a ruse (and is the source of the saying that has come down to us as "Beware the Greeks bearing gifts") but was not believed and was further punished by the gods who sent two serpents that dragged him and his twin sons into the sea. A statue depicting the event is one of the most famous sculptures of antiquity.