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This is one of El Greco’s last and most important works. It was inspired by the ancient Greek tale of Laocoön. The Trojan priest, Laocoön, counselled his countrymen not to accept the wooden horse offered by the Greeks as a gift. In giving this advice he so angered the gods that they sent serpents to kill him and his two sons.

El Greco was acquainted with the motif from the famous Hellenistic statue discovered in Rome in 1506. The ancient group of figures greatly impressed and inspired contemporary artists. El Greco gave the subject a Christian construction. He isolated the figures from each other thus indicating that they have to face death alone, a view corresponding to Christian teaching. The snake can similarly be given a Christian meaning. An old Biblical symbol for sin, the serpent tempted man and precipitated the Fall from Grace. In the background we see Troy and the wooden horse. Troy here though looks much like Toledo, El Greco’s Spanish home.