- "The Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure."
- —from The Silmarillion
The Eye of Sauron, or Great Eye, was a symbol adopted by the Dark Lord in the Third Age. It was said that few could endure its terrible gaze. The Eye was used as a symbol on armor and banners of Mordor, representing Sauron's quasi-omniscience.
With it, Sauron searched for and tracked the paths of the Ring-bearer Frodo Baggins at the end of the Third Age.
History
It is unknown when the Eye of Sauron was formed. At the apex of Barad-dûr, the Eye was a flaming, visible, though perhaps not tangible presence during the events of The Lord of the Rings, made clear when it appeared through a window when clouds parted in Mordor.[1]
- "Far off the shadows of Sauron hung; but torn by some gust of wind out of the world, or else moved by some great disquiet within, the mantling clouds swirled, and for a moment drew aside; and then he saw, rising black, blacker and darker than the vast shades amid which it stood, the cruel pinnacles and iron crown of the topmost tower of Barad-dûr. One moment only it stared out, but as from some great window immeasurably high there stabbed northward a flame of red, the flicker of a piercing Eye; and then the shadows were furled again and the terrible vision was removed."
- —The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter II "The Land of Shadow"
Portrayal in adaptations
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Ringsfilm trilogy, the Great Eye is a gigantic eyeball composed of energy that sits atop Barad-dûr.
In Monolith's sequel to Shadow of Mordor, Middle-earth: Shadow of War the Eye depicted in Jackson's trilogy is the actual manifestation of Sauron and the wraith of Celebrimbor, the Elf who forged the rings of power, in a state of perpetual combat. When the ring is destroyed and Barad-dûr falls, the Eye implodes and Celebrimbor is presumed free.
See also
Gallery
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Oog van Sauron |
| Albanian | Syri i Sauronit |
| Amharic | ጻኡሮን ዓይን |
| Arabic | عين سورون |
| Armenian | Սաւրոն-ի աչք |
| Azerbaijani | Sauronın göz |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | вачэй Саурона |
| Bosnian | Saurona oko |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Окото на Саурон |
| Catalan | Ull de Sàuron |
| Cebuano | Mata sa Sauron |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 索伦之眼 |
| Croatian | Sauronovo oko |
| Czech | Sauronovo oko |
| Danish | Saurons Øje ("Øjet") |
| Dutch | Oog van Sauron |
| Esperanto | Okulo de Sauron |
| Estonian | Sauroni silm |
| Fijian | Mata ni Sauron |
| Filipino | Mata ni Sauron |
| Finnish | Sauronin Silmä |
| French | Oeil de Sauron |
| Frisian | Each fan Sauron |
| Galician | Ollo de Sauron |
| German | Auge von Sauron |
| Greek | Μάτι του Σάουρον |
| Hausa | Ido na Sauron |
| Hawaiian | Maka o Sauron |
| Haitian Creole | Je la Sauron |
| Hebrew | העין של סאורון |
| Hindi | साोरन की आँख |
| Hmong | Qhov muag ntawm Sauron |
| Hungarian | Szauron szeme |
| Icelandic | Sauronsar auga |
| Igbo | Anya nke Sauron |
| Indonesian | Mata Sauron |
| Irish Gaelic | Súl na Sauron |
| Italian | Occhio di Sauron |
| Japanese | サウロンの目 |
| Javanese | Mripat saka Sauron |
| Kannada | ಸೌರಾನ್ನ ಕಣ್ಣು |
| Kazakh | Саұронның көз (Cyrillic) Sauronnıñ köz (Latin) |
| Korean | 사우론의 눈 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Саурондын көз |
| Latvian | Saurona acs |
| Lithuanian | Saurono akis |
| Luxembourgish | An vun Sauron |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Окото на Саурон |
| Malagasy | Maso ny Sauron |
| Malaysian | Mata Sauron |
| Maltese | Għajn ta ' l-Sauron |
| Marathi | सायरोनची डोके |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Саурон-ийн нүд |
| Nepalese | षौरोन् को आँखा ? |
| Norwegian | Saurons øye |
| Pashto | د د سترګو صاورون |
| Persian | چشم سائورون |
| Polish | Oko Saurona |
| Portuguese | Olho de Sauron |
| Punjabi | ਸਾਓਰੋਨ ਦੀ ਅੱਖ |
| Romanian | Ochiul lui Sauron |
| Russian | Око Саурона |
| Samoan | Mata o le Sauron |
| Scottish Gaelic | Shùil de Sauron |
| Serbian | Сауроново око (Cyrillic) Sauronovo oko (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | ෂෞරොන්ගේ ඇස |
| Slovak | Sauronovo oko |
| Slovenian | Sauronova oko |
| Somalian | Isha ee Sauron |
| Spanish | Ojo de Sauron |
| Swahili | Jicho la Sauron |
| Swedish | Saurons öga |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Чашм аз Саурон |
| Tamil | ஸுரோன்வின் கண் |
| Thai | ตาของเซารอน |
| Turkish | Sauron'un gözü |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Око Саурона |
| Urdu | لارڈ ساؤرن کی آنکھ |
| Uzbek | Сауроннинг кўз (Cyrillic) Sauronning ko'z (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Mắt của Sauron |
| Welsh | Llygad Sauron |
| Yiddish | אויג פון סאַוראָן |
References
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter II: "The Land of Shadow"
External links
- Sauron Eye live animation following mouse
