Argonath

Situated on either side of the river Audin, the gates of Argonath featured two massive pillars carved out of rocks facing the northern entrance. They stood there as a marking to the ancient northern border of Gondor. These statues guarded the passage of the river Audin leading to Mordor. Each of these two statues can be seen holding an ax in one hand, and a rose in the other as a sign of warning to the enemies entering Gondor.​

Since its early days, the Kingdom of Gondor had kept a share of its northern boundary to the north end of Nen Hithoel. After several centuries, it was the son of Minalcar, the son of Narmacil who strengthened the defense of river Audin by building the pillars of Argonath. He took this step after being victorious in the defeat of Easterlings. As the Third Age took power and Gondor lost its size and strength, the pillars of Argonath were left in a deserted area far outside its boundaries. Hence they were left in the middle, no longer marking Gondor’s boundaries. While the Fellowship of the Ring took their journey down the south crusading between these pillars, these two statues showed immense strength and power even though their eyes were blurred and their brows were dented.​

The name Argonath comes from Sindarin language and can be dissected into “ar” and “gond” for its complete meaning. “Ar” means royal and “Gond” means stone, hence the meaning behind the name is a royal stone. The remainder of the name “ath” is a collective plural for things that come in a set of two and this case, the two pillars.​

To do justice to the grandeur of Argonath, a combination of live-action footage and the digital backdrop was used for two large and detailed figures. [1]. In contrast to what was shown in the book, this movie showcased Isildur and his father Elendil instead of Anárion. Anárion was completely removed for the film. Another interesting difference is the portrayal of swords in their hands instead of axes.​