Laertes (lā-er´tēz).—King of the island of Ithaca and father of Ulysses. He took part in the Calydonian boar hunt, and in the Argonautic expedition. He lived to see the return of his son to Ithaca, after the fall of Troy.
Laius (lā´i-us).—King of Thebes and father of Œdipus.
Laocoon (lā-ok´o-on).—A Trojan, priest of Apollo, who strenuously opposed the admission of the wooden horse into [Troy] (q.v.). As he was preparing to sacrifice a bull to Neptune, two fearful serpents swam out of the sea and strangled both him and his two sons.
Laodamia (lā-od-a-mī´a).—Daughter of Acastus and wife of Protesilaus.
Laodice (la-od´i-sē).—(i) Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. (ii) The name given by Homer to Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra.
Laomedon (lā-om´e-don).—King of Troy, father of Priam.
Lapithæ (lap´i-thē).—A mythical people inhabiting the mountains of Thessaly. They were ruled by Pirithous, who, as Ixion’s son, was half-brother of the Centaurs. When Pirithous married Hippodamia, and invited the Centaurs to the marriage feast, the latter, fired by wine, attempted to carry off the bride and the other women. Hence arose the celebrated fight between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ, in which the former were defeated. The Lapithæ are said to have invented bits and bridles for horses.
Lares (lār´ēz).—Household divinities—the divinities presiding over the hearth, and the whole house. In great houses the images of the Lares were placed in a separate compartment. At meal times some portion was offered to the Lares, and on festive occasions they were adorned with wreaths.
Latinus (la-tī´nus).—King of Latium, who gave Æneas his daughter Lavinia in marriage.
Latmus (lat´mus).—A mountain in Caria, on which [Endymion] (q.v.) lay in perpetual sleep.