The Trident - Mere Fantasy or Practical Weapon?

The trident is an iconic weapon seen in the hands of gods, superheroes, and other characters in roleplaying games and other fantasy fiction. Was it just a tool and symbol in history or was it used in combat as well?

Let's take a look a the design with its practical pros & cons, as well as examples of two and three pronged spears / polearms from various time periods and parts of the world. Of course there is nothing wrong with less restrained fantasy, but those of you who like to incorporate some level of realism into your writing may find this useful.

Thanks to Ace the Super Villain for making the 3D animations for visual reference in this video. Check out his bundle of weapon models:
https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/military/melee/50-low-poly-polearms

If you're looking for reproductions of medieval & renaissance polearms (affiliate link):
https://www.kultofathena.com/product-category/weapons/spears-polearms/?koa=259
*** Sources ***

Luristani bronze trident
https://timevaultgallery.com/large-ancient-bronze-trident-near-eastern-luristan-culture-ne190/
Viking harpoon / fishgig
https://www.touchofmodern.com/sales/rare-t-de25c776-2699-443b-b9ae-4cd3c4882714/ancient-viking-authentic-trident-harpoon-museum-display?wall=1

Sasumata & Sodegarami (Japanese mancatcher designs)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Sodegarami_sasumata.jpg

Chinese Tang Pa & Tiger Fork
https://kknews.cc/news/avj5v2n.html
https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/chinese-tiger-fork

African tridents
http://ancientpoint.com/inf/155480-trident_spear_top_west_nigeria_africa.html
http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/photos.php?id=6840

Vietnamese trident
http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=6125

Brandistocks
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.1257
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26200

Artwork:
https://www.deviantart.com/ladyheinstein/art/Seraphina-Poseidon-508744053
https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Neo-Ishgardian_Trident
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Triton
*** Music ***

"Cavern of Wonders" by Hitctrl
https://opengameart.org/content/rpg-the-cavern-of-wonders

Royalty-free music by Alexander Nakarada (creative commons license)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJDrBabcokE
Outtakes:
"Little People At Work" by Horrorpen
https://opengameart.org/content/little-people-at-work-loop
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC BY 3.0)

Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
https://theslantedroom.github.io/steve.yee/
Used with artist's permission
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Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc:
https://www.kultofathena.com/?koa=259

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http://www.woodenswords.com/?Click=1799

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Видео The Trident - Mere Fantasy or Practical Weapon? канала Skallagrim