Tritons in Chateau fountain / Tritóni v zámecké fontáne - Klášterec nad Ohrí (North-West Bohemia) - Epic Beings and Creatures on Waymarking.com

Depicted Baroque sculpture of two mythological Greek sea gods Tritons decorates fountain located in the front of neo-Gothic Chateau Klášterec nad Ohrí (zámek Klášterec nad Ohrí).

The fountain was built as a part of the Baroque alterations of the Chateau complex, financed by the then owner of the estate, Michael Osvald count Thun and Hohenstein. Reconstruction under the direction of Italian architect Rossi de Lucca took place in the second half of the 17th century. The circular stone fountain with a diameter of 14 m has in its center a sculpture of two Tritons, the work of sculptor Jan Brokoff from 1686.

Triton is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea. He is the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, god and goddess of the sea respectively, and is herald for his father. He is usually represented as a merman, having the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish, "sea-hued", according to Ovid "his shoulders barnacled with sea-shells". Like his father, Poseidon, 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 such a cacophony, that when loudly blown, it put the giants to flight, who imagined it to be the roar of a dark wild beast.

Over time, Triton's class and image came to be associated with a class of mermaid-like creatures, the Tritons, which could be male or female, and usually formed the escort of marine divinities. Tritons were a race of sea gods and goddesses born from Triton. Triton lived with his parents, Poseidon and Amphitrite, who was also known as Celaeno, in a golden palace on the bottom of the sea. According to Homer it was called Aegae[disambiguation needed]. Unlike their ancestor Poseidon who is always fully anthropomorphic in ancient art (this has only changed in modern popular culture), Tritons' lower half is that of a fish, while the top half is presented in a human figure. This is debated often because their appearance is described differently throughout history. Ordinary Tritons were described in detail by the traveller Pausanias:

"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."

[excerpted from Wikipedia]