The Immortals

[M. Demetrius]

Having done a little gladiator exhibition as a retarius, those hooks can be used to pull an opponent's shield away from the body, and then quickly thrust inward between the shield and the body. The square part of the trident works that way, and the hooks would, too. They would also prevent the spear point from going deeper than the hook, so the spear would be less likely to bind up in the wounded enemy.