Act II. In a grove near the walls of the city the Trojan people, with

their princes at their head, are celebrating the return of peace. _Andromache_, however, sees no happiness for herself, since _Hector_ has fallen. Suddenly _Æneas_ hurries in with the news that the priest _Laocoon_, who had persisted in seeing in the wooden horse only a stratagem of the Greeks, has been strangled by a serpent. Athena must be propitiated; the horse must be taken into the city, to the sacred Palladium, and there set up for veneration. Of no avail is _Cassandra's_ wailing, when the goddess has so plainly indicated her displeasure.