“ The trident as the symbol of the sovereignty of the sea is found as early as Archilochus (c. 700 B.C.) ; a more familiar example is to be found in Aristophanes (Eq. 839) . The emblematically figure of Britannia holds the trident as mistress of the sea. In the gladiatorial shows of ancient Rome the retiarius was armed with a trident as a weapon. ”