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 any case, the early importance of Poseidon can still be glimpsed in Homer's "Odyssey", where Poseidon rather than Zeus is the major mover of events. In Homer, Poseidon is the master of the sea. Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance, while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis. In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic