| Son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. He is described as living with them in a golden palace in the depths of the sea. The mythical lake Tritonis, near the Mediterranean coast of Libya, was regarded as his peculiar abode, especially in the storyof the Argonauts. He was represented as man in his upper parts, terminating in a dolphin's tail; his special attribute is a twisted sea-shell, on which he blows, now violently, now gently, to raise or calm the billows. In the course of time there grew up the notion of a large number of Tritons, all represented as beings of double form and sometimes with the fore-feet of a horse as well as a human body and a fish's tail (called Centauro-tritons or Ichthyo-tauri). They were, however, always regarded as attendants on the other sea-gods while riding or driving over the waves; and they were represented accordingly in works of art (see cuts). |
