Trident of Poseidon

Poseidon's Trident (Greek: τρίαινα του Ποσειδώνα) is the signature weapon and symbol of the Olympian god of the sea; Poseidon. It is a powerful weapon, forged by the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires in Tartaros, alongside Zeus' Lightning Bolt and Hades' Helm of Darkness to aid the gods in the Titanomachy.

Overview[]

The Trident's shape is that of a three-pronged spear, with royal sea themed details carved on most of it's depictions.

Mythology[]

In Greek mythology, Poseidon's trident was forged by the Cyclopes according to Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheke.

Poseidon wields his trident on a number of occasions. He used his trident to strike a rock upon the hill of the Acropolis, producing a well of seawater, in what developed into a contest between him and Athena over possession of Attica. When he lost, Poseidon used the trident to dry out the land so they had no water. The well was later to be called the Erechtheis. There is further myth that Neptune (Poseidon) produced a horse by striking the earth with the trident, in order to bolster his claim, but there is no attestation for this among Greek writers. The alleged trident print on a rock and the sea well within the Erechtheion were witnessed by the geographer Pausanias while visiting Athens.

In another myth, Poseidon creates a spring or springs with the strike of his trident to reward Amymone for her encounter with him. In a version of another myth Poseidon wields his trident to scare off a satyr who tries to rape Amymone after she mistakenly hits him with a hunting spear.

There is also a myth where Poseidon touches the island of Delos with his trident, affixing it firmly to the sea floor. Another myth tells how Poseidon, enraged by sacrilegious behavior of Ajax the Lesser, uses the trident to split the rock to which Ajax was clinging.

The oldest coins of Poseidonia from the 6th century BC depict a trident wielded by Poseidon in his right hand, similar to Zeus's thunderbolt. An Attic red figure kylix from c. 475 BC depicts Poseidon killing the Giant Polybotes with his trident.

Capabilities[]

In myth, among the capabilities of the trident, it is told that Poseidon could use it to manipulate the water and entire oceans, and/or to control sea life on most of it's forms and cause the skies to blacken or clear.

Divine Weapon
- Indestructible Item
- Divine Magic
  - Advanced Hydrokinesis
  - Advanced Atmokinesis
  - Advanced Earthquake Generation
  - Advanced Energy Blasts
  - Electrokinesis
  - Sea-Life Manipulation
  - Divine Slaying

Wielders[]

In Popular Culture[]

The trident plays a major role on the 2012 film Wrath of the Titans. In the film, the trident is one of the god weapons needed to form the Spear of Triam.