2-668-954 - © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford/Heritage Images

Laocoon group, from Esquiline Hill, Rome, c30 BC. Laokoon naked with full beard and long hair sits on a square altar partly covered by his mantle, trying to free himself from two snakes. On either side is a naked boy (Laocoon’s sons) with short hair likewise engaged. Late Hellenistic. Dimensions: height x width: 238 x 165 cm