The Trident and Other Marine Deities and Mythological CreaturesĮven in Greek and Roman mythologies, Poseidon and Neptune were far from the only characters wielding tridents. Naturally, in the hands of powerful deities like Neptune and Poseidon, the trident was viewed as a fearsome weapon, capable of causing devastating tsunamis and sinking entire armadas of warships. This indicates the power of Poseidon’s trident and his dominion over the seas. One of the best known myths involving Poseidon’s trident relates to him striking the ground (or a rock) with the trident, causing a salwater spring to gush forth. In fact, even today the symbol for the planet Neptune in both astronomy and astrology is the lower-case Greek letter psi, commonly referred to as the “trident symbol” – ♆.Īs the myth goes, the cyclopes forged the trident as a weapon for Poseidon. As such, it’s also been the symbol of various sea deities such as the Greek god of the sea Poseidon and his Roman equivalent Neptune. The Tridents of Poseidon and Neptuneĭespite its uses in war or on the sands of the arena, the trident is still best-known as a fishing tool. Nevertheless, as several of the larger rebellions across the Roman Empire included gladiators in them, the trident was often identified as a symbol of people’s uprising alongside the pitchfork. It was mostly used for the entertainment of the masses, however, as a simple sword and shield was still a more effective combination. The combination was effective as it offered the gladiator superior range, an easy to use weapon, and an ensnaring tool. Roman, Greek, Thracian, and other gladiators often used a combination of a trident, a small, throwable fishing net, and a buckler shield to fight in gladiator arenas all across the Roman Empire. The trident is especially legendary as a gladiatorial weapon. A prime example of that is the Korean dang pa trident which was exceedingly popular in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Tridents have even been used in martial arts. Additionally, tridents crafted specifically for war were often made with an elongated middle prong – this allowed for a powerful initial contact, similar to that of a spear as well as the chance of still harming the opponent even if you missed them with the middle prong. However, both the trident and the bident compensate for that by helping less-skilled combatants land successful hits with ease. As a fighting weapon, both the trident and bident are typically inferior to the spear as the latter’s single point offered more effective penetration. The trident has also been used as a weapon of war, usually by lower-class people who didn’t have the means to afford a more sophisticated weapon. Still, the trident has also served a purpose in agriculture as a tool for removing leaves, buds, and seeds from plants. Instead of for fishing, the pitchfork’s intended use is for handling bales of hay instead.
Most cultures have also used standard spears for fishing before the invention of fishing rods and nets, however, the trident has proven to be far superior for that purpose than a normal spear or a bident. The trident’s traditional use is as a fishing tool, with the three prongs increasing the chance for successfully spearing a fish.