Laomedon- Greek FigureMortal"King of Troy"
Also known as: Λαομέδων and Laomedōn
Description
When Apollo and Poseidon were condemned to serve him for a year, Laomedon had them build Troy's walls, then refused to pay, threatening to bind the gods and sell them as slaves. He cheated Heracles the same way and lost his city and his life.
Mythology & Lore
The Walls of Troy
Laomedon, son of Ilus and grandson of Tros the eponymous founder of the Trojan people, was king of Troy when Zeus punished Apollo and Poseidon for their part in a rebellion against his authority. The two gods were condemned to serve a mortal master for one year, and Laomedon was chosen. Poseidon built the walls of Troy while Apollo tended Laomedon's cattle on the slopes of Mount Ida.
When their year of service was complete, Laomedon refused to pay the wages he had promised. He threatened to cut off their ears and sell them as slaves. Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravage the Trojan coast; Apollo loosed a plague upon the city. An oracle declared that the only way to appease the gods was to chain Laomedon's daughter Hesione to the rocks by the shore as a sacrifice to the monster.
The Second Betrayal
Hesione was already chained when Heracles arrived. He offered to slay the monster in exchange for the divine horses Zeus had once given Tros, immortal steeds that Laomedon had inherited. Heracles killed the sea monster and rescued Hesione. Again, Laomedon refused to pay.
Heracles returned with an army, including Telamon of Salamis, and sacked Troy in what became the first destruction of the city. Laomedon was killed along with all his sons except the youngest, Podarces, who was ransomed by Hesione and renamed Priam, "the ransomed one." Priam would rebuild Troy and rule it until the second and final sack by the Greeks. Poseidon fought fiercely for the Greeks throughout the Trojan War, his anger at Laomedon unspent. Apollo, who had tended cattle on Ida, favored the Trojan side.