Very well explained, Lanty.
I agree now that
if Ungoliant can be classified as something other than a 'very powerful spirit or creature' then she must be a
Maia. We cannot know for sure, but this seems the most likely.
Originally posted by Kelonus
Interesting. So Ungoliant became a spider, (a freakin huge) one to mate and his daughter did the same, but who did they mate with?
Well, first of all, Ungoliant was a
she !
Ungoliant, after fleeing from
Melkor and his
Balrogs, set up a nice home of filth and terror in the a valley called
Nan Dungortheb, in the Ered
Gorgoroth ("
Mountains of Terror"). There she mated with lots of other foul
creatures (who were of a less powerful breed to herself).
Thus, any offspring of this mating were not
as powerful as Ungoliant, because her "blood" was mingled with the "blood" of lesser creatures.
This means that these offspring were not as "great" as Ungoliant. Some were still very powerful and terrifying, like
Shelob, and some less so (although they were still very large and scary), like the
spiders of
Mirkwood.
I belive that it can be concluded that the "dark will" that
Frodo and
Sam felt in Shelob's tunnel was a feature Shelob had inherited from Ungoliant, as was the uttermost darkness in the tunnel (something very similar to the "Unlight of Ungoliant".........Ungoliant's name also means "gloom-weaver").
Also Shelob seemed only to look out for herself (similar to Ungoliant), and only wished to drink the blood of all things, and be fat and bloated, and devour all light (all these thing features of Ungoliant).
It seems in the case of Shelob (arguably the greatest child of Ungoliant) that she inherited more Ungoliant-like traits than the other offspring, and thus she was the most powerful.
I say "inherited" and "blood", but really these are just representations for "genes". But the problem is we don't know that Ungoliant (whatever she was) or the the other foul creatures actually have "genes", or, if they do, that the genealogy of these kinds of beings are the same as ours.
However, if they do have "genes", I think it would be safe to assume that Ungoliant's "genes" would be the more dominant, as she is the more powerful being.
Indeed, if we look at the case of
Luthien, it can also be concluded that "the more powerful being has the more dominant 'genes'".
Melian, Luthien's mother, is a Maia, whilst
Thingol, Luthien's father, is just an
Elf (albeit a very great one). It seems that Luthien (as the most beautiful ever Child of
Eru) "inherited" many Maia-like "genes", such as her beauty, and her ability to enchant even the
Valar with her songs.......she could also by arts of enchantment make her hair grow very long very quickly, and she threw
Sauron out of his own
fortress, too! I'd say that most of these almost "supernatural" qualities are "inherited" from Melian, not Thingol.