This is El Greco’s only painting of a mythological scene. Laocoön, a priest in the city of Troy, warned his countrymen not to accept the gift of the Trojan horse, which concealed enemy Greek soldiers. The gods punished him by sending serpents to strangle him and his sons. El Greco set the Greek myth against his adopted Spanish city of Toledo, which appears in other paintings by the artist. The highly expressive colors and energetic brushstrokes are also hallmarks of El Greco’s distinctive style.