The Tridentent is associated with the sea god Poseidon. This divine instrument is said to have been forged by the cyclopes.[3]
Poseidon struck a rock with his trident, causing a sea (or a saltwater spring, called the Erechtheis) to appear nearby on the Acropolis in Athens.[4][5] And according to Roman sources, Neptune struck the earth with the trident to produce the first warhorse.[6]
Poseidon, as well as being the god of the sea, was also known as the "Earth Shaker",[7] believed to cause earthquakes;[8][a] some commentators have extrapolated that the god would have used the trident to cause them,[9] possibly by striking the earth.[citation needed]
In the Renaissance artist Gian Bernini`s sculpture Neptune and Triton (1622–23), Neptune is posed holding a trident turned downwards, and is thought to reenact a scene from Aeneid or Ovid's Metamorphoses where he is calming the waves to aid Aeneas's ships.
In later Greek and Roman art and literature, other sea deities and their attendants have been depicted holding the trident.
Poseidon's consort Amphitrite is often identified by some marine attribute other than a trident, which she never carries according to some scholars, though other commentators have disagreed.[11][13]
Turning to the retinue or a train of beings which follow the sea deities (the marine thiasos) the Tritons (mermen) may be seen bearing tridents.[14] Likewise, the Old Man of the Sea (halios geron) and the god Nereus are seen holding tridents.[14] Tritons, other mermen, and the Nereides can also carry rudders, oars, fish, or dolphins.[14]
Oceanus normally should not carry a trident, allowing him to be clearly distinguished from Poseidon. However, there is conflation of the deities in Romano-British iconography, and examples exist where the crab-claw headed Oceanus also bears a trident.[16][17] Oceanus holding a trident has been found on Romano-British coinage as well.[b][18]
Some amorini have been depicted carrying tiny tridents.[c][19]
The trident is even seen suspended like a pendant on a dolphin in Roman mosaic art. In ancient Greece, the trident was used as a harpoon to spear large fish, especially when fishing for tuna. The
trident used in modern spearfishing usually has barbed prongs that grip the speared fish. In the Southern and Midwestern United States, gigs are used to harvest suckers, bullfrogs, flounder, and many types of raw fish.click here
