The Intelligence of 👁️Sauron

You can remove elf blood with a healthy sprinkling of Zout... I think... You should ask Martha about it!!!

Sauron, Zout, Martha- the great axis of evil.

Seriously, for a change, the intelligence of Sauron should be in question... not the personal smarts of the guy but I mean is CIA system. He could've done a lot better hiring spies and stuff.

evil axis...

I think his spy system was ok- even with a 100% catastrophe at Cirith Ungol, Shagrat was still able to report to Sauron that 2 halfling spies were seen trying to get through the pass, that they had been seen with her ladyship's 'sneak', and they had apparently continued into Mordor, rather than running out of it. If Sauron had been capable of putting 2 and 2 together, well, he would have been a different Sauron. Given all the recent hubub Sauron had had with Halflings and the One Ring (to say nothing about the presence of Gollum), he definitely should have figured out what was going on the moment Shagrat reported (~1week before the Ring went in the drink, by my recollection). Yet instead he continued to assume the Ring was with the big guns, who were at that moment making their way to the gates of Mordor. IMO it's just more evidence that Sauron was not capable of understanding his own danger until Frodo popped on the Ring at the Cracks of Doom!

suaron wasnt a fool he was merely another slave to the ring and he thought no creature had the will to destroy it.

Sauron

I don't think he was thinking foolishly. Put yourself in his place. We have heard the argument that he only thinks in terms of greed and malice. But also think practically. Frodo and Sam going into Mordor to destroy the ring is about as practical as a naked man walking into Fort Knox to make an unauthorized withdrawal. Who would think it? It would surely seem the stupidest thing to do.

Someone said why should he fear Aragorn? Well, Aragorn is the descendant of the guy who defeated him and stole his ring. The sword he wields struck him down. And through the Palantir Sauron and Aragorn "wrestled in thought" and Aragorn wrested control of the stone from Sauron. So he has a strong will. Strong enough to wield the ring.

Nowhere I've seen does it say Sauron is invincible while the ring exists. Both Gandalf and Galadriel have aluded to the fact that they COULD defeat Sauron with the ring at their command. It just needs a powerful enough being to bend the ring to his will. In the end they would be corrupted and become LIKE Sauron, but Sauron himself would be gone. So yes, Sauron has reason to fear. And were does this mere mortal get the cheek to present himself before Sauron in the first place? He MUST have the ring to be so self-assured.

Think of it this way. The ring is a trigger for a bunch of nukes. The good guys have it, but using it will destroy their lands as well. If Sauron gets it, he is ASSURED victory. In the meantime, he has overwhelming conventional forces so he can probably win even without it. So in that position, and not having a love for the land that everyone else does, he would definitely think Aragorn has put on the ring and is coming to kick his butt out of Mordor.

Eol

Not only should we consider Sauron's intelligence, but also his other characteristics. Yes he was intelligent but he was blinded to and extent by his obsession with power and his arrogance. Because he could not conceive of anyone NOT desiring to use the power of the Ring, he could not therefroe conceive that anyone would wish to destroy it. Also, he was so certain that even without the ring, he could defeat everyone, and that unless they used the Ring or had the aid of the Valar, no-one could assault him inside Mordor, that he focussed on winning rather than defence.

Yes he was intelligent but he was blinded to and extent by his obsession with power and his arrogance.

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For one moment there I thought we were actually talking about Feanor. Like peas in pod

"Yea, two rotten apples."

This isn't the beginning of a Feanor fire fight is it?

I think a lot of good points have been made... I always said Aragorn was perfect.... Sauron fears perfection... 'cause Aragorn would get all the girls...

No where is it said that Sauron has an eye for the ladies, of course... but it makes an interesting picture.

Hmm, speaking of which; Sauron must have been one of the very few Maiar who didn't wed (apart from the Istari, Anarien, and...somebody else)..

saurons intelligence

Sauron was an extremely intelligent enemy like when he went among the elves as Attamar(gift-bringer) and gave them the knowledge of how to make the magic rings but he is clever to the extreme when he crafts the One Ring that has power over the other rings

In LOTR the reason he seems so stupid is because he is so consumed in searching for The Ring that he seems stupid.

does anyone else know about sauron being a servant to the valar before turning evil

Sure....

I'm not sure the term "servant" is correct...but yeah, the Maia were lesser Valar.

suaron was a genuis but the very greed and power he currupted others with were his bain as well

You're right Aulë The Smith, and welcome to the forum!
Just to make sure you feel reeeaally uncomfortable: the name is Annatar.

The Intellýgence of Sauron

I want to ask a question.Is Sauron very clever?Or did he lose his mind with the ring?If you were Sauron.What would you be afraid of?How can you be totally defeated??I see you konow the answer:By destroying the ring.So why didn't he guard the mount doom?
Don't tell me that it was guarded well.Because it wasn't.First of all Shelob was not his guardian.She worked to herself.So is Sauron very clever??I think not.But inthe Silmarillion he was very clever.I,as a Sauron fan don't like this stupidness.For me there was not a chance for Sauron to lose.What do you think of this subject???I wish that elves came to help from valinor.

Do not try to explain yourself,nor try to understand them.

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he did not know that the people who had it wanted to detroy it. His thoughts were 'he is the isildurs heir. He has the ring. He will use it to destroy ME!"

Sauron knew the ring was in someone's possession, and they knew how to use it. He was planning on them trying to use it for good (like Boromir suggested), but he knew that no one else could wield the power it gave, so they would become evil, and he would eventually get the ring...

Anamatar IV has given the basic answer. The point is that Nobody who has possession of the ring can willingly destroy it, not even Sauron himself.

This being the case why would he expect an attempt to travel through all the dangers of the different lands of middle-earth and then through Mordor where Sauron had all his orcs and the Nazgul to try to get to the Cracks of Doom in Orodruin with the intention of throwing the rings into the fire? This was the thought of the Council of Elrond, it was the one path that would not be expected. The ones who talked of this path did not possess the ring themselves and therefore could think clearly about it. Boromir, although he did not have the Ring nonetheless desired it and he talked against destroying it.

So it was not 'Stupididty' but simply the inability of one who knew the power of the ring to think that anyone would try to destroy it.

To add to the previous answers, on the topic of guarding Mount Doom, instead of thinking about Sauron's intelligence, think about his Arrogance. He believed he was secure unless somebody actually used the Ring against him.