... him realise the truth, probably to further emphasise the madness that allowed the Trojans to eventually drag the horse into the city - leading to the fall of Troy. The madness of the Trojans is what Virgil emphasises the most throughout the whole passage, he says they were "blinded by madness", even Laocoon could not dissuade them. Virgil wants to emphasise the stupidity of the Trojans, in this 'madness', and he does this in a few ways, one of these few ways being Laocoon. The many events that prove Laocoon's true words add to the whole effect. Aeneas says, "the gods were against" them, so that half justifies the stupidity of the race eventually to become the Romans. The story provides a whole lot of reasons for why Laocoon is not believed. Virgil did not want to offend his own race - the Romans, but he needed the horse to be brought ...

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