The Trident of Poseidon

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.

The trident is associated with the Greek sea-god Poseidon and his Roman counterpart Neptune. A trident is a three-pronged spear, ordinarily used for fishing or as a polearm, a weapon on a pole used for close combat fighting, to extend the users effective range and striking power.

TRIDENT OF POSEIDON - GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.

Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea following the defeat of his father Cronus, when the world was divided by lot among his three sons; Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea, with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three.

In Homer's Iliad, Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War and in the Odyssey, during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, the complete loss of his ship and companions, and a ten-year delay. Poseidon is also the subject of a Homeric hymn. In Plato's Timaeus and Critias, the legendary island of Atlantis was Poseidon's domain.

Poseidon's trident was forged by the cyclopes according to Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheke.

Poseidon wields his trident on a number of occasions. Poseidon 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. The well was later to be called the Erechtheis. There is further myth that Poseidon (Neptune) 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, splits with trident the rock to which Ajax was clinging.

The oldest coins of Poseidonia from the 6th century BC depict 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.

In present times Poseidon's trident is a recurring symbol. It appears on the coat of arms of Liverpool City Council, the seal of the Greek Navy, and the badge of USS John S. McCain, as well as on the crest of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. A series of American submarine ballistic missiles, Trident is named after Neptune's trident, as well as Operation Neptune Spear. The personification of Great Britain, Britannia is depicted with the trident of Poseidon as a symbol of naval power. The logo of car manufacturer Maserati is based on the trident from the statue of Neptune in Bologna.

The broken tip of the trident appears on the flag of Barbados. In this instance the reference is to its use as Britannia's trident, broken to symbolise the end of Britain's colonial rule.

Poseidon's Trident is a magical artifact with destructive powers in Michael Livingston's 2015 historical fantasy novel The Shards of Heaven.

Jack Sparrow, aided by Henry Turner, seeks the Trident of Poseidon in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 

The key players of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series are Johhny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow,  Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa, with Orlando Bloom as Will Turner.

The Pirates of the Caribbean stories follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) on a quest for treasure, the fountain of youth with Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), and restitution from various curses relating to gold and silver coins, all the while evading the British Royal Navy, and Commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport), featuring Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Angelica (Penélope Cruz), ending with Carina Smyth (daughter of Hector Barbossa, Kaya Scodelario) and Henry Turner (son of Will and Elizabeth, Brenton Thwaites) taking a shine to each other against (Javier Bardem) Armando Salazar, who is seeking revenge.

Pirates of the Caribbean was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with directors Gore Verbinski, Rob Marshall, Joachim Rønning, and Espen Sandberg. The series was primarily written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

Kiera Knightly as Miss Elizabeth Swann in an absolutely stunning outfit

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