The word "trident" comes from the
Latin word tridens or tridentis: tri meaning "three" and dentes meaning "teeth", referring specifically to the three prongs, or "teeth", of the weapon.[1]
The
Greek equivalent is ÏÏίαÎčΜα (trĂaina), from
Proto-Greektrianja, meaning "threefold". The Greek term does not imply three of anything specific, and is vague about the shape, thus the assumption it was originally of "trident" form has been challenged.[2]
The Sanskrit name for the trident, trishula, is a compound of tri à€€à„à€°à€ż for "three" and ĆĆ«la à€¶à„à€Č for "thorn", calling the trident's three prongs "thorns" rather than "teeth" or dant in Sanskrit, making the word "Tridant" for trident.[citation needed]
The trident is associated with the sea god
Poseidon. This divine instrument is said to have been forged by the
cyclopes.[4]
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.[5][6] And according to Roman sources, Neptune struck the earth with the trident to produce the first
warhorse.[7]
Poseidon, as well as being the god of the sea, was also known as the "Earth Shaker",[8] believed to cause
earthquakes;[9][a] some commentators[who?] have extrapolated that the god would have used the trident to cause them,[10] possibly by striking the earth.[citation needed]
In the Renaissance artist
Gian Bernini's sculpture Neptune and Triton (1622â23), 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.[11]
Other sea divinities
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.[12][14]
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.[15] Likewise, the
Old Man of the Sea (halios geron) and the god
Nereus are seen holding tridents.[15] Tritons, other mermen, and the
Nereides can also carry rudders, oars, fish, or dolphins.[15]
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.[17][18] Oceanus holding a trident has been found on
Romano-Britishcoinage as well.[b][19]
Some amorini have been depicted carrying tiny tridents.[c][20]
The trident is even seen suspended like a pendant on a
dolphin in Roman mosaic art.[d][21]
In religious
Taoism, the trident represents the Taoist Trinity, the
Three Pure Ones. In Taoist rituals, a trident bell is used to invite the presence of deities and summon spirits, as the trident signifies the highest authority of Heaven.[citation needed]
It has been used by farmers as a
decorticator to remove leaves, seeds and buds from the stalks of plants such as
flax and
hemp.[citation needed] A form of trident is used by the
gardians in the Camargue of southern France for herding cattle.[citation needed]
The glyph or sigil of the planet
Neptune (â), which alludes to the trident, is used in
astronomy and
astrology.
Political
The Tryzub in the
Coat of Arms of Ukraine, adopted in 1918 (in a reinterpretation of a medieval emblem which is traced to the
Volodymyr the Great, but may likely depicted a Algiz (also Elhaz) Viking rune that was introduced by Olga of Kyiv).
The trident was used as the original cap insignia and original logo for the
Seattle Mariners. Although the Mariners changed their cap insignia & logo away from a trident theme in 1993, the club allows players to use a trident as a prop after hitting home runs during games. The trident prop used by the team is a replica from the 2018 film Aquaman.[32]
Part of the golden-colored
crest of the
United States Naval Academy, which depicts a trident running vertically in its background.
The ship's crests of 13 of the 18
Ohio-class submarines of the U.S. Navy prominently feature tridents, as both a symbol of maritime power, and in reference to their payloads of
Trident D-5 missiles.
The rating badge of the United States Navy Ocean Systems Technician (OT)
Botanical nomenclature
A number of structures in the biological world are described as trident in appearance. Since at least the late 19th century the trident shape was applied to certain botanical shapes; for example, certain
orchid flora were described as having trident-tipped lips in early
botanical works.[33] Furthermore, in current botanical literature, certain
bracts are stated to have a trident-shape (e.g.
Douglas-fir).[34]
^Mackay catalogs instances in classical literature where Poseidon is connected with the earthquake, but does not cite use of the trident in any, only mentioning its use in creating the horse.[9]
^Porta Capena mosaics, Rome. In the center is a square with geometric design (star inscribed in circle), and there are four diagonal spokes from it in the shape of a trident.
^Burke assigns trident to Neptune and Eve to Triton. Eve states the Triton is "sometimes called Neptune", while Burke cross-references "merman" to "Neptune".
^Thomas Moule, among others write "triton, or merman" implying interchangeability of these terms.
References
Citations
^"Trident" at the Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed on 23 March 2024.
^Walters, H. B. (1892â1893),
"Poseidon's Trident", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 13 (37): 454, 459, 45
^Bury, John Bagnell (1940). "XXII.vi Zeus, Hera, Poseidon".
The Cambridge Ancient History. University Press. p. 631. Poseidon,..the earth-shaker, whose trident roused the earthquake, and the god of horses.
^Wilkins, Ann Thomas (2000), "Bernini and Ovid: Expanding the Concept of Metamorphosis", International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 6 (3): 403â404
JSTOR30222585
^Oceanus Mosaic from
Withington;[16] The "pavement from Ashcroft Villas,
Cirencester" is also mentioned.
^Wilson, R. J. A. (2006), "Aspects of Iconography in Romano-British Mosaics: The Rudston 'Aquatic' Scene and the Brading Astronomer Revisited", Britannia, 37, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies: 297â299,
doi:
10.3815/000000006784016693,
S2CID190728064JSTOR30030523
^John Lindley and Thomas Moore (1964) The Treasury of Botany: A Popular Dictionary of the Vegetable Kingdom with which is Incorporated a Glossary of Botanical Terms, Published by Longmans Green, pt.1