Triton (mythology)

Triton (Τρίτων, gen: Τρίτωνος) is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea. He is usually represented as a merman, having the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish.

Like his father, he carried a trident. However, Triton's special attribute was a twisted conch shell, on which he blew like a trumpet to calm or raise the waves. Its sound was so terrible, that when loudly blown, it put the giants to flight, who imagined it to be the roar of a mighty wild beast (Hyginus, "Poet. astronom." ii. 23).

According to Hesiod's "Theogony", Triton dwelt with his parents in a golden palace in the depths of the sea. The story of the Argonauts places his home on the coast of Libya. When the Argo was driven ashore on the Lesser Syrtes, the crew carried the vessel to Lake Tritonis, whence Triton, the local deity, guided them across to the Mediterranean (Apollonius Rhodius iv. 1552).

Triton was the father of Pallas and foster parent to the goddess Athena. Pallas was killed by Athena during a fight between the two goddesses. [ Apollodorus: "Bibliotheca", 3.12.3] . Triton is also sometimes cited as the father of Scylla by Lamia. Triton might be multiplied into a host of Tritones, "daimones" of the sea.

Triton also appeared in Roman myths and epics. In the Aeneid, Misenus, the trumpeter of Aeneas, challenged Triton to a contest of trumpeting. The god flung him into the sea for his arrogance.

Tritones

Over time, Triton's name and image came to be associated with a class of merman-like creatures, the Tritones, which could be male or female, and usually formed the escort of marine divinities. Ordinary Tritons were described in detail by the traveller Pausanias (ix. 21). [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin////ptext?lookup=Paus.+9.21.1 Pausanius' "Description of Greece" 9.21.2] : "The Tritons have the following appearance. On their heads they grow hair like that of marsh frogs not only in color, but also in the impossibility of separating one hair from another. The rest of their body is rough with fine scales just as is the shark. Under their ears they have gills and a man's nose; but the mouth is broader and the teeth are those of a beast. Their eyes seem to me blue, and they have hands, fingers, and nails like the shells of the murex. Under the breast and belly is a tail like a dolphin's instead of feet."]

Triton fountains

The figure of a Triton is a natural conception for a fountain, as Romans realized when they came to incorporate fountains in gardens in the first century BCE, Sextus Propertius described "The sound of water which splashes all round the basin, when the Triton suddenly pours forth a fountain from his lips." [Propertius, Elegy 2,32, translation by Goold.] Bernini's "Fontana del Tritone" (1642-43)is a feature of the Roman cityscape.

Triton since the Renaissance

Among the things named after Triton include Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune. This name is symbolic, as Neptune is the Roman name for Triton's father.

In Wordsworth's sonnet "The World is Too Much With Us" (ca 1802, published 1807), the poet regrets the prosaic humdrum modern world, yearning for

glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

Triton is also associated in modern industry with tough, hard-wearing machines such as Ford's Triton Engines and Mitsubishi's Triton pickup trucks.

References

External links

* [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4731425 Nereid and Triton Mosaic from Ephesus Terrace Home -2]
* [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4691185 3D stereoview of Nereid and Triton relief from Apollon Temple in Didim]
* [http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Triton.html TheoiProject: Triton] Classical references to Triton in English translation