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
Poseidon with greater frequency than does "di-u-ja" ("Zeus"). A feminine variant, "po-se-de-ia", is also found, indicating a lost consort goddess, in effect the precursor of Amphitrite. Poseidon carries frequently the title "wa-na-ka" (wanax) in Linear B inscriptions, as king of the underworld. The chthonic nature of Poseidon-Wanax is also indicated by his title "E-ne-si-da-o-ne" in Mycenean Knossos and Pylos, a powerful attribute (earthquakes had accompanied the collapse of the Minoan palace-culture). In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) "Enesidaon" is related with the cult of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. She was related with the annual birth of the divine child. During