| Revision as of 20:30, 22 August 2005 editIrpen (talk | contribs)32,604 edits rm what's already in another article Trident (disambiguation)← Previous edit | Revision as of 11:03, 23 August 2005 edit undo62.239.24.22 (talk) Add Category:Fishing equipmentNext edit → | ||
| Line 27: | Line 27: | ||
| {{weapon-stub}} | {{weapon-stub}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 11:03, 23 August 2005
A trident (from Latin 'tridens', 'tridentis', from 'tri', three, 'dens', tooth, 'dentes', teeth) is a three pronged staff.
It was used by fishermen to catch fish.
As a weapon it was also used by the retiarii, Roman gladiators that used a net to wrap their adversary and a trident to kill him.
Symbolic use
From the fish meaning, it is often associated with Poseidon, the God of the sea in Greek mythology. By hitting the earth with his trident, Poseidon created the horse and some water sources in Greece.
As a symbol it is the central figure of the flag of Barbados. A highly stylised trident (the tryzub) constitutes the Ukrainian coat of arms.
The trident is also the missile weapon of the Hindu god Shiva, and it often includes a crossed stabiliser to facilitate its flight when thrown.
In Christian tradition the trident is associated with the Devil, and his depictions commonly include a trident as his sceptre.
It was both the weapon of choice of King Triton from Disney's The Little Mermaid and the weapon of choice of Diana from the PAX network's 2003 made for tv movie Mermaids
See also
 | This article related to weaponry is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |