Virgil - Aeneid II.40-56

Virgil - Aeneid II.40-56: Laocoon's Warning

40 primus ibi ante omnes , magna comitante caterva ,

41 Laocoon ardens summa decurrit ab arce ,

42 et procul : ' o miseri , quae tanta insania , cives ?

43 creditis avectos hostes ? aut ulla putatis

44 dona carere dolis Danaum ? sic notus Ulixes ?

45 aut hoc inclusi ligno occultantur Achivi ,

46 aut haec in nostros fabricata est machina muros ,

47 inspectura domos ventura que desuper urbi ,

48 aut aliquis latet error : equo ne credite , Teucri .

49 quidquid id est , timeo Danaos et dona ferentes .'

50 sic fatus validis ingentem viribus hastam

51 in latus in que feri curvam compagibus

52 alvum contorsit . stetit illa tremens , utero que recusso

53 insonuere cavae gemitum que dedere cavernae .

54 et , si fata deum , si mens non laeva fuisset ,

55 impulerat ferro Argolicas foedare latebras

56 Troia que nunc staret , Priami que arx alta maneres .

Lines 40-56 Translation: First there before all, with a great crowd accompanying him, Laocoon burning (with passion) runs down from the highest citadel, and from afar (cries): 'O wretched citizens, what great madness is this? Do you believe the enemies have sailed away? Or do you think any gifts of the Greeks lack tricks? Is Ulysses known thus? Either Greeks are hidden enclosed in this wood, or this machine has been built against our walls, about to spy on our homes and come upon the city from above, or some trick lies hidden: do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts.' Having spoken thus, with mighty strength he hurled his huge spear into the side and into the curved belly joined with beams of the beast. It stood there trembling, and with the womb struck, the hollow caverns resounded and gave a groan. And if the fates of the gods, if our mind had not been perverse, he would have driven us to defile the Greek hiding places with iron, and Troy would now stand, and you, high citadel of Priam, would remain.

Passage Analysis

What Happens

Laocoon, a Trojan priest, rushes down from Troy's citadel with a crowd following him. He desperately warns his fellow citizens against accepting the wooden horse, calling them mad for believing the Greeks have departed. He presents three possibilities: Greeks are hidden inside, it's a siege engine to overtop their walls, or it conceals some other trick. He delivers the famous warning "I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts" before dramatically hurling his spear into the horse's side. The weapon strikes true, causing the hollow interior to groan and echo—clear proof it's hollow and occupied. Virgil adds the tragic counterfactual: if fate and the Trojans' minds hadn't been against them, Laocoon would have persuaded them to investigate with weapons, and Troy would still stand.

Key Themes & Ideas

Voice of Reason Ignored: The one person who sees clearly is dismissed as hysterical.
Fatal Credulity: Troy falls not through military defeat but through believing enemy lies.
Divine Determinism: "Fata deum" - the gods have already decided Troy must fall.
Proof Disregarded: Physical evidence (the hollow sound) is ignored.
Collective Madness: "Insania" - an entire city choosing delusion over survival.
Tragic Hindsight: The counterfactual ending emphasises what could have been.

Virgilian Technique

Dramatic Entrance: "Primus...ardens...decurrit" - urgency in every word.
Rhetorical Questions: Five questions building to inevitable conclusion.
Triple "Aut": Three possibilities, each more sinister than the last.
Famous Maxim: "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" - proverbial wisdom.
Sound Effects: "Insonuere...gemitum" - the horse literally groans with Greeks.
Apostrophe: Direct address to Priam's citadel in counterfactual.

Historical & Literary Context

Laocoon was a priest of Apollo (or Neptune in some versions), making his warnings carry religious authority. The wooden horse was supposedly an offering to Minerva for safe return—rejecting it risked divine anger. "Greeks bearing gifts" became proverbial in Latin and later European languages. The spear-throw proving the horse hollow appears in multiple ancient sources. Virgil's counterfactual ("Troy would now stand") emphasises Roman fascination with historical turning points. The "mens laeva" (perverse mind) suggests both divine influence and human folly—a double causation typical of epic. This scene establishes the tragedy's central irony: Troy has the information needed to survive but chooses destruction.

Questions to Consider

Why does Virgil have Laocoon arrive "burning" and running—what does this urgency convey?
How do the rhetorical questions build Laocoon's argument?
What's the significance of the horse "groaning" when struck?
How does the counterfactual ending affect our reading of the scene?
Why might the Trojans ignore such clear evidence and reasoning?
What does "mens laeva" suggest about responsibility for Troy's fall?