Tritoness Relief Applique, Bronze with copper inlays, Greek, late 2nd century B.C.E. at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio

Tritoness Relief Applique, Bronze with copper inlays, Greek, late 2nd century B.C.E. at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio.
Greek pottery depicting a half-human, half-fish being became popular in the 6th century BCE. The original sea god, Triton, was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite according to Hesiod's Theogony. Triton is usually represented as a merman, with the upper body of a human and the tailed lower body of a fish. At some time during the Greek and Roman era, Triton(s) became a generic term for a merman (mermen) in art and literature. A female version (tritoness) was eventually introduced as well.
After observing the body of a creature touted as a headless Triton in Rome, Pausanias described it in detail in the 2nd century CE.
"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."


Image: Tritoness Relief Applique, Bronze with copper inlays, Greek, late 2nd century BCE at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

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