- "It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him, putting forward the name of Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking to enchain Men in servitude to themselves. For they are the oracle of this Eru, which speaks only what they will. But he that is their master shall yet prevail, and he will deliver you from this phantom; and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger than they."
- —Sauron in The Silmarillion, "Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor"
The Temple for Morgoth[1], or simply the Temple, was a cult site raised at the behest of Sauron for the worship of Morgoth in Armenelos, during Sauron's time in Númenor.[2]
History[]
The Temple destroyed in the Downfall of Númenor, by John Howe
Following his coming to Númenor, Sauron cleverly maneuvered his way from the lowly place of prisoner to prime counsellor of Ar-Pharazôn, whom he ensnared and morphed into his willing puppet. As much of the Númenórean folk had turned away from the Valar, the Dark Lord propounded another element as worthy of reverence: the Darkness itself. Unable, for now, to claim personal divine status anew, Sauron the Deceiver preached deliverance from death and promise of power instead through an unseen object of worship: his old master, Melkor.[3] As Ar-Pharazôn and his followers fully embraced the adoration of the Darkness, Sauron commanded for a mighty Temple be built on a hill in the middle of Armenelos.[2]
The Temple was built in Armenelos with a circular foundation, and was constructed mainly of marble, gold, glass, and steel.[1] Its walls were five-hundred feet high and fifty-feet thick; it was five-hundred feet across from the center of the base. There were prisons and chambers of torture beneath it.[1] The Temple was roofed by a mighty silver dome which could be seen at a distance due to how it glittered when it was struck by sunlight. However, the dome was soon blackened from the smoke of rituals, as the structure's innermost sanctum contained an altar of fire in its center. There was a louver at the uttermost top of the dome that let out a great smoke regularly. The first sacrifice made on the altar of fire was the chopped-up wood of Nimloth. For seven days afterwards, the city was covered in a cloud that withered flowers and grass,[1] before it dispersed and passed away toward the west, though the reek of the burning was admired by many Númenóreans.[2]
Portrayal of a sacrifice held by Sauron in the dome of the Temple, by EKukanova
Soon afterwards, the King's Men began making human sacrifices upon the altar, hoping that Morgoth would grant them immortality. Many of these sacrifice victims were among the Faithful, though they were never sentenced openly based on their rejection of Morgoth alone. Because of the worship of Morgoth, the skies above Númenor became increasingly engulfed by thunderclouds shaped like Eagles, which often brought death. Sauron laughed when he heard these storms. During one such storm, "a fiery bolt smote the dome of the Temple and shore it asunder", causing it to catch fire. The Temple, however, was itself unaffected, since Sauron stood atop the dome, defying the lightning and remaining unharmed. As a result, the King's Men believed him to be a god and obeyed him without question.[2]
As Ar-Pharazôn's Great Armament departed for war, Sauron remained in the innermost circle of the Temple, laughing at the fleet's trumpets of war before demanding more victims for sacrifices. He often surveyed the land from the Temple.[1] Sometime afterwards, some soldiers of Sauron went to Rómenna to drag Elendil himself to the Temple; he avoided them before setting sail for Middle-earth.[2]
In SA 3319[4], nine-hundred-and-thirteen days after the Great Armament set sail, "fire burst from the Meneltarma" and even while Sauron laughed at finally having gotten rid of the Edain, the black seat he was sitting in and even the Temple itself were cast into the abyss that Eru had made; thus, the Dark Lord's physical form was caught in the ruins, but his spirit survived and escaped, to return to Mordor and take back up the One Ring in Barad-dûr.[2]
Other versions[]
In an earlier version of the legendarium, the Temple for Morgoth was built atop the summit of Meneltarma.[5]
Inspiration[]
In The Notion Club Papers, the Radcliffe Camera is described using similar terms as the Temple for Morgoth.[6]
In adaptations[]
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game[]
In the Temple of the Deceived adventure pack for Fantasy Flight Games's The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, the heroes are led by Corsairs into the ruins of a grand temple heavily implied to be the Temple for Morgoth. The temple was guarded by the undead Temple Guardian.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Azerbaijani | Morgothın Məbəd |
| Danish | Morgoths Tempel |
| Norwegian | Morgoths Tempel |
| Persian | نیایشگاه مورگوت |
| Spanish | Templo de Morgoth |
| Swedish | Morgoths Tempel |
| Turkish | Morgoth'un Tapınak |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The History of Middle-earth The Lost Road and Other Writings, III. The Lost Road, (ii): "The Númenórean chapters"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Silmarillion, Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth Morgoth's Ring, "Notes on motives in the Silmarillion"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Second Age"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth The Lost Road and Other Writings, III. The Lost Road, (ii): "The Númenórean chapters"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth Sauron Defeated, Part II: The Notion Club Papers, "The Notion Club Papers Part One"