Eye of Sauron

The Eye of Sauron, also known as the Great Eye, is the symbol that the Dark Lord [1] adapted in the Third Age. It is claimed that not everyone could stand its terrible gaze. The Eye of Sauron was often used in the banners, shield, and armor of Mordor [2] to represent the quasi-omnipotence of Sauron. The Eye of Sauron is also referred to as the Great Eye, the Red Eye, The Lidless Eye, and the Evil Eye. It is the image that is most associated with Sauron. Sauron's Orcs referred to him merely as the "eye" because, according to the books, Sauron did not allow them to speak or write his name. The only exception to this rule was the Mouth of Sauron, his emissary.

We know Sauron as the main antagonist in The Lord of the Rings. However, Sauron had a long history when it comes to Tolkien's Middle-earth. He was the chief lieutenant of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. He was also the Necromancer in The Hobbit. He has been around since the First Age. He was a Maiar, an angelic spirit that served the Valar. He belonged to a higher order of Maiar than the ones that were sent to Middle-earth (this makes him more powerful than Gandalf). Sauron was first known as Mairon. He was serving Aulë, the Valar Smith, from which he was able to acquire vast knowledge. The Valar Melkor (later known as Morgoth) rebelled against the supreme-being, Eru, and he corrupted Mairon to be a spy.

As soon as Melkor was able to destroy Almaren with the help of Mairon's treachery, Melkor turned his back on the Blessed Realm and went down to Middle-earth to join Melkor. It was after their betrayal that they were renamed to Morgoth and Sauron. Sauron was Morgoth's most devoted servant and his lieutenant. When the Valar declared war and captured Morgoth, Sauron was able to escape and went into hiding. He rebuilt Angband and started to breed Orcs. Morgoth was able to return later when he escaped and stole the Silmarils. It was in the War of Wrath that Morgoth met his defeat. When the Valar banished Morgoth to the Outer Void, Sauron was able to escape the same fate and went into hiding.

Sauron reappeared during the Second Age with the plan to rule Middle-earth and become their king. He disguised himself as the Lord of the Gifts, Annatar, which he used to befriend the Elven smiths and consult them about magic and arts. These Elven-smiths later created the Rings of Power. Sauron then used what he had learned from the Elven-Smiths to forge the One Ring, which had the power to rule all the other rings. A lot of wars and battles had passed because of the rings. Isildur and Anárion became allies to defeat Sauron. Together, they were able to invade Mordor. Elendil and Gil-galad killed Sauron. Elendil’s fall broke his sword, Nardil, into pieces. Isildur used the shards from Narsil to cut off the finger that wore the One Ring away from Sauron’s hand.

The separation of the One Ring from its master vanquished Sauron's physical form. Círdan and Elrond told Isildur to get rid of the One Ring by throwing it in the fires of Mount Doom. Isildur chose to keep the ring. During the Third Age, the army of Isildur was attacked by a group of Orcs. Isildur wore the ring in an attempt to escape, but while he was swimming across the Anduin River, the One Ring slipped off his finger. Gollum and Déagol later find the One Ring somewhere in the river and thus start the events that led to The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien never discussed the physical appearance of Sauron in detail.

But Tolkien gave the impression that he was can change the way he appeared from time to time. When he was a servant of Morgoth, he took on a mysterious and evil shape – one that had daunting eyes. When faced with the hound of Valinor, Huan, Sauron turned into a werewolf. He also later turned into a snake-like form. He also turned himself into a charming and beautiful form when he disguised himself as Annatar. Sauron took a human-like form but one that was clearly superior to any other man and his eyes had a light that no man could dare look at for so long by the end of the Second Age. After Númenor, he appeared as a Dark Lord. It was said that he had a black hand and it burned as if it was on fire. In fact, Gil-galad, the one who slew him, still perished because of the heat emitting from Sauron's body.

It was not clear when the Eye of Sauron was formed. For something that played a significant part in the story, you will hardly find any clear information about the Eye of Sauron itself. In Tolkien's books, Sauron was like a shadow that lurks around, an evil energy that broods in the tower of Barad-dûr in the lands of Mordor. According to the books, no one sees Sauron. However, his will is known through the Eye of Sauron and his servants. Here are scenarios from the novels and the movies that mention the Eye of Sauron:

In the films by Peter Jackson, the physical form of Sauron was only seen during the Prologue of the story. He can be seen wearing a gray metallic armor of spikes, which covered his face and his body. His helmet had eye holes where you can only see an empty void. Sauron was commanding his army during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in his first appearance in the movies. Then, Sauron can be seen in Mount Doom, making the One Ring using the fires within the mountain. The scene is followed by Sauron going into battle equipped with a mace, and a close-up shot of him wearing the One Ring. With so much power in his hands, Sauron was able to kill Elendil and Narsil. He then tried to slay Isildur with the side that has the One Ring. Isildur sees the ring and slices off the finger that carries it. At that moment, Sauron seems to fall apart, and his physical body disperses and crumbles – all that was left was his armor, which fell to the ground.

In the book, Gandalf tells the history of the One Ring, which included the history of Sauron. He says this to Frodo once Gandalf realizes that the ring Frodo has is the One Ring. He warns Frodo that the tales he has been speaking of the Dark Lord Sauron is true. And the rumors that he has risen again and returned to his tower in Mordor is true. Gandalf continues that the enemy is becoming strong, and the Dark Lord's plans may be happening soon. However, the Dark Lord is still looking for one more thing to cover all of Middle-earth in darkness – the One Ring.

You can find this passage in the chapter The Shadow of the Past from the Fellowship of the Ring. In the movie, Gandalf realizes this when Frodo dropped the ring, and Gandalf bends down to pick it up. He gets the vision of the Eye of Sauron as he touches it. As he told Frodo that Bilbo Baggins left him the One Ring and Sauron was looking for it at that very moment, Frodo did not believe Gandalf at first because Sauron already died. However, Gandalf explained that Sauron's spirit is very much alive. His life force is bound to the One Ring, which is why he still survives.

Gandalf then shares that Sauron has indeed returned to his fortress in Mordor, and the Orcs have multiplied in number. Sauron just needs the One Ring to spread his darkness all over Middle-earth. Sauron is busy looking for the One Ring, and the One Ring is also seeking its master. Gandalf explains that the Dark Lord and the One Ring are one. He cautions Frodo that the Dark Lord must never find it. The book explains that although Sauron is powerful and strong, he was not undefeatable. But with the One Ring, he can do anything. This is the reason why Sauron wants the ring so badly despite his Orc armies and dark magic.

The moment when Frodo accidentally wears the ring happened in both the book and the film. In the movie, Frodo hears Sauron's voice while wearing the ring. Sauron tells him that he sees Frodo and that Frodo cannot hide from him. In the book, it did not have much of an impact. Frodo simply disappears when he accidentally slipped his finger in the ring.

Sauron and the One Ring were also discussed during the Council of Elrond [3]. Both the novel and the book used the Council of Elrond to introduce the main characters and give background information about the events that they are facing. In the movie, you can see a painting on the wall of Sauron smiting Isildur. Boromir recalls the blade that cuts off the ring from Sauron. Aragorn then answers that no one can wield the sword. He also reminded Boromir that the One Ring only answers to Sauron and has no other master. When Gimli strikes the One Ring with his ax in an attempt to destroy it, the Eye of Sauron flashes in Frodo's mind.

In Tolkien's books, Frodo sees the Eye of Sauron when he looks into the Mirror of Galadriel. It is at the scene that Tolkien gives a detailed description of the Eye of Sauron in the books. As Frodo looked in the mirror, the mirror turned very dark, as if it opened a hole of emptiness. Then, in the darkness, a single eye grew slowly until it filled the mirror. The gaze the Eye of Sauron gave was so terrible that it rooted Frodo – he was unable to move or speak.

All he could do was stare back at the Eye of Sauron. Tolkien then described the Eye as being surrounded by fire, but the Eye looked glazed. It was like a yellow cat's eye – staring with intent. The black slit of the Eye of Sauron on its pupil looked like it opened up a window into a dark abyss of nothingness. You can find this passage in the chapter The Mirror of Galadriel in the Fellowship of the Ring. The same chapter also reveals that Galadriel has a link with the Dark Lord Sauron. She can see the Dark Lord and his mind as long as it concerns the Elves.

Galadriel is the Sorceress of the Golden Wood [4] – a high-born Elf Lady, but the extent of her powers was not shown. In fact, she was not able to play a crucial role in the fight against Sauron. In the movie, when Frodo looks into the Mirror of Galadriel, Frodo sees the Eye of Sauron. Sauron then spoke to Frodo in the Black Speech-language.

In the book, Frodo sees the Eye of Sauron once more at Amon Hen, when he used the Seat of Seeing. Frodo was running away from Boromir, who wanted to take the One Ring for himself. He reached the summit of the hill and sat on the high seat while still wearing the ring. He saw visions of lands that could not be seen in a normal range of sight. But everywhere he looked, all he saw was ruins and signs of war. Then he set his eyes on Barad-dúr, where he became aware of the gaze of the Eye of Sauron directly on him. Frodo felt like he was being pinned down, unable to move. It felt like Sauron was about to approach him when the voice of Gandalf entered his mind telling him to take off the ring. Hearing Gandalf, Frodo was able to remove the One Ring right away before his location was fully discovered. This scene was altered in the Peter Jackson movie. Frodo came upon the Seat of Seeing when he was escaping from Boromir. Still wearing the ring, he ran to the platform and saw a vision of The Eye of Sauron and Barad-dúr. When he heard Sauron's voice, Frodo took off the ring. It was at this moment that he decided to take the ring to Mordor by himself.

In the chapter The Passage of the Marshes from Tolkien's book The Two Towers, It can be seen here that the Eye of Sauron has a physical toll on Frodo. As Frodo approached Mordor, the One Ring felt more burdensome on the chain around his neck. Furthermore, Frodo was troubled by the Eye of Sauron, whose deadly gaze made him feel naked and unable to move. Frodo's head started to bow because of its weight, and he felt as if the sun was atop his body.

After Frodo was able to win over Gollum in the last scuffle for the One Ring inside Mount Doom, Frodo threw the One Ring in the volcano. The One Ring falling into the flames of Mount Doom [5] destroyed the ring, and along with it, Sauron's life force. Barad-dûr started to crumble, and the Eye of Sauron, known to be Sauron's last physical form, turned into a dark cloud that blew away.

Sauron tortured Gollum in person. During the interrogation, he learned from Gollum that a Hobbit named "Baggins" has the One Ring. Upon learning this, Sauron sends the Nazgûl to The Shire to look for the Hobbit. Gollum later shares with Frodo that he remembers Sauron having a black hand. The hand had only four fingers. We know at this point that the missing finger was the one that wore the ring – which Isildur cut off.

The Eye of Sauron was also mentioned briefly by Tolkien in The Silmarillion. In the Akallabêth, it shared that Sauron had the One Ring and hid in Barad-dûr, where he stayed in silence. It was there that he made himself a new disguise – an image of hate and malice. Tolkien describes it as "the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure." This was in the stories before the War of the Last Alliance [6] began. So in person, while Sauron still had his physical body, he was always seen as a formidable presence with a terrifying gaze that people feared. The Eye of Sauron was mentioned again in the Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age part of The Silmarillion. Here, it was said that Sauron's physical form was forever gone when he was banished into the abyss during the drowning of Númenor. Sauron brooded in the dark until he was able to form himself into a new shape. This was the malice of the Eye of Sauron, which even the greatest among Elves and Men could not endure.

In Tolkien's draft of the novel, The Lord of the Rings, the Eye of Sauron was written to stand for Sauron himself – as if the eye had Sauron's thoughts and emotions. Christopher Tolkien, Tolkien's son, who compiled the works of his late father, commented on this passage. Christopher says that it was a way for his father to show that the Eye of Sauron is one with the will and mind of Sauron himself. In the passages after the one mentioned above, Christopher noted that Tolkien changed from "its" to "his" when referring to the Eye of Sauron.

In this novel, the Eye of Sauron was mentioned. The antagonist, Randall Flagg, has an astral body that comes in the form of an Eye – just like the Eye of Sauron. Stephen King himself said that the novel was a fantasy story that was similar to The Lord of the Rings, only it was in a post-apocalyptic setting in America.

Stephen King also made another novel inspired by Tolkien’s portrayal of Sauron as an eye that looks for the hero of the story. The series has the Crimson King as a villain, who also uses an eye as his icon.

In 2010, the spiral galaxy NGC 4151 was dubbed as the "Eye of Sauron" by astronomers. This was because the image taken was very similar to the famous Eye from The Lord of the Rings. This galaxy is 43 million light-years from our planet. It is one of the nearest galaxies to Earth that has a black hole that is active and growing.

1. ^The Dark Lord
2. ^Armor of Mordor
3. ^Council of Elrond
4. ^Sorceress of the Golden Wood
5. ^Mount Doom
6. ^War of the Last Alliance