Triton (mythology) Triton (mythology) Triton (; "Tritōn") is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea. He is the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, god and goddess of the sea respectively, and is herald for his father. He is usually represented as a merman which has the upper body of a human and the tail, soft dorsal fin, spiny dorsal fin, anal fin, pelvic fins and caudal fin of a fish, "sea-hued", according to Ovid "his shoulders barnacled with sea-shells". Like his father, Poseidon, he carried a trident. However, Triton's special attribute was a twisted conch shell, on which he blew
Trident of Poseidon resembles the arrow-headed pronged fork, used by the Mediterranean fishermen to catch eels. Poseidon became particularly worshipped in coastal countries, where fish formed a basic commodity of trade. According to competing proposal by H. B. Walters, Poseidon's trident is derived from Zeus' lotus sceptre, with Poseidon being Zeus in his marine aspect. In Greek myths, Poseidon wields his trident on a number of occasions. During the contest with Athena over the possession of Attica, Poseidon strikes the Acropolis with the trident to produce a well of seawater. In a similar myth Poseidon strikes the ground with trident to produce a