Hello my fellow ONTD ROP-heads, I've finally finished this long ass post just in time for the finale! lol pic and text heavy
TOLKIEN CREATION MYTH
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Eru Ilúvatar is the highest deity and creator in the Tolkien creation myth. Eru created the Ainur & Eä and possesses the "flame imperishable" in his spirit which kindles existence from nothing. Eru is omniscient and exists outside the boundaries of Eä. Only Eru can create life.
Quick Tolkien translation:
The Ainur = Valar + Maiar
Eä = the universe
Arda = the world
Tolkien didn't like allegory, but he modeled a lot of his creation myth on Norse mythology.
A good way to think about it is:
Eru Ilúvatar = God, the creator
The Valar = pagan gods
The Maiar = angels/lesser gods
Valar > Maiar, each Maia is associated with a member of the Valar
Ilúvatar created the Ainur before anything else, even before Eä. Each Ainu came from a part of his mind. To further their comprehension, he presented his thought in the form of music, and listened as the Ainur picked up his themes and elaborated on them, slowly learning to sing in harmony with each other.
Eventually Ilúvatar showed them his greatest theme, and made them sing it in harmony and develop it with newly granted powers. This was the Music of the Ainur.
The Ainur entered Eä and shaped the world according to the Music. Eru delegated most direct action within Eä to the Ainur, including the shaping of the Earth (Arda) itself.
"Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä."
TLDR as much as I can: Ilúvatar created the Ainur from various aspects of his mind. Each was granted insight into a specific part of Ilúvatar's thought, and was therefore more aligned in spirit with that part. Each one to sang a different theme which came together to create one song eventually resulting in the creation of the world. After the Music of the Ainur and creation of Eä, many Ainur chose to enter Eä, agreeing not to leave it until the end of Arda.
I will now go into some of the Ainur (Valar + Maiar) to give you a better understanding of wtf I'm talking about lol
THE VALAR
The 14 greatest of the Ainur who chose to enter Eä are called the Valar
There are 14 Valar total, but in this post I will only be talking about the Valar referenced in Rings of Power because this post is going to be long enough as it is and some of the Valar are pretty irrelevant tbh but I highly recommend these videos on the Valar if you want to know more: herehere
Aule
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Aule is known as the Smith and Smith of the Valar, concerned with rock, metal, nature of substances and works of craft. Aule created rocks, gems, minerals and all substances in which the earth is made as well as the sun and the moon. When the Elves came to Valinor many of them became Aule's students and friends. The greatest of his students, the Elf Feanor, would craft the Silmarils which would shape much of the First Age. The Silmarillion describes what happens as a result of Feanor crafting the Silmarils, as well as other stories of the First Age.
Aulë created the Dwarves because he was unwilling to wait for the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men) to appear. Ilúvatar found out about this and chastened Aulë, since only Ilúvatar can create life. Aulë humbly repented, offering his children (the Dwarves) to the will of Ilúvatar, and Ilúvatar accepted the dwarves as his adopted children. Since Ilúvatar had decided that the Elves were to be the first-born race, he put the Dwarves to sleep until the Elves woke on Arda.
He is highly revered among the Dwarves obvi since he created them, and he is referenced A LOT by Durin and others in the Rings of Power.
Manwe
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Manwe was the leader of the Ainur, King of the Valar and of Arda. He was the greatest in authority, but not power of all the Valar, with Melkor being more powerful. The winds, airs and birds were his servants. Manwë along with Aulë and Ulmo were the chief architects of Arda. Manwe was said to be one of the only Valar who took counsel from Eru.
I suspect Manwe will come up again in later seasons because he plays a role in the downfall of Numenor. In cannon, Ar-Pharazôn breaks the Ban of the Valar and as a result Eru unleashes divine punishment on Numenor. The Ban of the Valar was a ban placed on the Numenoreans by the Valar. The Valar told the Numenoreans they were not allowed to sail so far West that they could not see their own shores (the Valar didn't want the Numenoreans traveling to Valinor, because they are not Elves and are not allowed in), but Ar-Pharazôn tries to sail there anyway. The Valar feared that the Númenorean army could wreak havoc in Valinor, but they were forbidden from killing or otherwise using force against Men. Manwë, chief of the Valar, thus called upon Ilúvatar, who opened a massive chasm in the sea between Númenor and Aman which swallowed the ships in the Great Armament of Ar-Pharazôn.
Melkor/Morgoth
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Morgoth or Melkor as he was originally called, was the most powerful of the Ainur that Ilúvatar created. Melkor wandered through the Void in an attempt to find and use the Flame Imperishable, the source of Ilúvatar's creative activity, and as a result Melkor developed ideas unlike those of the other Ainur. His feelings grew rebellious against his creator, but still Melkor could not find the Flame, because it was not in the Void, but within Ilúvatar.
When the Ainur made music, Melkor wove his strange thoughts into his song. His song clashed against the Theme of Ilúvatar, disturbing the Ainur around him and causing some of them to attune their music to his. For a while the Theme of Ilúvatar and the discord of Melkor warred against one another. But Eru smiled, and sent forth a new theme. Most of the Ainur joined with it, but Melkor rebelliously opposed it even more violently.
At last, many of the Ainur stopped singing in dismay, and Melkor's discords gained dominance. Eru sent out a third Theme against Melkor, sweeter and more beautiful than the others, and unquenchable. But though Melkor could not defeat it, still he opposed it. At last, Eru halted the music completely with a single chord.
Eru then told Melkor to fuck off basically, saying that all music finds its source in himself, and thus Melkor could not create his own song or truly alter the Themes of Ilúvatar. Melkor was shamed and angered by this judgement, but hid his feelings. When Eru showed the Ainur the product of their music: Eä, Melkor was one of those who begged to enter Arda, pretending to be willing to cultivate it and guide it for Ilúvatar's glory. He actually wished to dominate Arda and its creatures, especially the Children of Ilúvatar.
Morgoth corrupted many of the Ainur to his service, fought the Valar, and greatly damaged Arda. His theft of the Silmarils and wars against Elves and Men encompassed much of the history of the First Age. Eventually, Morgoth was bound in chains by the Valar and thrown into the Void, leaving the permanent damage his evils had done, and his former lieutenant Sauron, to trouble the world.
THE MAIAR
Sauron
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Halbrand Sauron was one of the most powerful and gifted of the Maiar. He was a student of Aulë and became skilled at crafting and making. Coveting the power through which he would coordinate all things according to his own will, he was ensnared by Melkor and became his greatest and most trusted servant.
Sauron's virtue was his love for order, planning and coordination, disliking confusion and chaos. But his obsession with order gradually overshadowed his love for the other intelligent beings of Arda, who would benefit from his planning; it became the sole object of his will. He started admiring Melkor's power to realize his designs quickly and masterfully. Unlike Melkor, who wanted to unmake and corrupt the world, Sauron wished to rule it and do what he wanted with it.
Gandalf/ the Istari
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If you've seen Peter Jackson's LOTR/Hobbit films, you're probably familiar with three out of the 5 Wizards in this picture. Gandalf, Saruman, Radaghast, and the two blue wizards (and none for the blue wizards bye) are all Maiar. They are Maiar sent by the Valar in the third age to help the people of Middle Earth fight Sauron. The Five Wizards, or Istari, as they are called by the Elves were supposed to aid the people of Middle Earth, but as powerful as they are being Maiar, they are not immune to corruption (see Saruman). I'm only going to talk about Gandalf here, because I don't care about the others tbh sorry see the Wiki if want to know more lol
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Gandalf is the Maia Olórin, counted among the wisest of the Maiar. He was close with the Valar Manwe, Varda, Irmo, and Nienna. When the Valar decided to send the Istari to Middle-earth to counsel and assist all those who opposed the Dark Lord Sauron, Manwë and Varda included Olórin among the five to be sent.
At first, Olórin was nervous and described himself as too weak and afraid of Sauron. Manwë understood, and told Olórin that such was a reason why he should go, to overcome that fear. Furthermore, the One Ring, containing much of Sauron's power, presumably still existed somewhere.
As the only one of the five Istari to stay true to his errand, Olórin/Gandalf was sent back to mortal lands by Eru after he falls to the Balrog in Moria, and he became Gandalf once again.
Melien the Maia
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Melian was the only member of the Ainur to have a relationship with one of the Children of Ilúvatar. She married the Teleri Elf King Thingol and together they ruled the 1st age Elven kingdom of Doriath. She is the ancestor of several important characters in Tolkien's legendarium including Elrond/Arwen, Elros, and Aragorn.
"In the dawn of Arda Melian dwelt in the gardens of Lórien and taught the nightingales how to sing. When the lights of the Two Trees mingled at noon she sang in Lórien and it is said that everything stopped...to enjoy her voice.
Around the time of the Awakening of the Elves, her love for the trees brought her to Middle-earth, filling its silence with her and her birds' voices"
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In the first age, some Elves were leaving Middle Earth and returning west to Valinor. King Thingol came across Melian in the forest and became entranced: the two of them stood hand in hand, unable to move or speak for years while the trees grew around them. As a result of his absence a portion of his followers stayed behind to search for him while the rest continued on to Valinor. The Elves who remained in Middle Earth would soon reunite with their King and Thingol would form the kingdom of Doriath. Melian would provide magical protection for Doriath, preventing anyone less powerful than Melian from entering. Through her daughter Luthien, Melian's bloodline is passed down through the lines of Elves and Men.
Balrogs are also Maiar. They were the Maiar who followed Morgoth to middle earth shortly after the creation of Arda.
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PT 2. Featuring Elrond and Fam coming soon hopefully
praying that the cuts aren't a mess when this gets posted
Source: Me with help from wiki and gateway
Pictures by: Ted Nasmith, Kamehame, Elena Kukanova, Kimberly80 on DeviantArt
TOLKIEN CREATION MYTH
Eru Ilúvatar is the highest deity and creator in the Tolkien creation myth. Eru created the Ainur & Eä and possesses the "flame imperishable" in his spirit which kindles existence from nothing. Eru is omniscient and exists outside the boundaries of Eä. Only Eru can create life.
Quick Tolkien translation:
The Ainur = Valar + Maiar
Eä = the universe
Arda = the world
Tolkien didn't like allegory, but he modeled a lot of his creation myth on Norse mythology.
A good way to think about it is:
Eru Ilúvatar = God, the creator
The Valar = pagan gods
The Maiar = angels/lesser gods
Valar > Maiar, each Maia is associated with a member of the Valar
Ilúvatar created the Ainur before anything else, even before Eä. Each Ainu came from a part of his mind. To further their comprehension, he presented his thought in the form of music, and listened as the Ainur picked up his themes and elaborated on them, slowly learning to sing in harmony with each other.
Eventually Ilúvatar showed them his greatest theme, and made them sing it in harmony and develop it with newly granted powers. This was the Music of the Ainur.
The Ainur entered Eä and shaped the world according to the Music. Eru delegated most direct action within Eä to the Ainur, including the shaping of the Earth (Arda) itself.
"Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä."
TLDR as much as I can: Ilúvatar created the Ainur from various aspects of his mind. Each was granted insight into a specific part of Ilúvatar's thought, and was therefore more aligned in spirit with that part. Each one to sang a different theme which came together to create one song eventually resulting in the creation of the world. After the Music of the Ainur and creation of Eä, many Ainur chose to enter Eä, agreeing not to leave it until the end of Arda.
I will now go into some of the Ainur (Valar + Maiar) to give you a better understanding of wtf I'm talking about lol
THE VALAR
The 14 greatest of the Ainur who chose to enter Eä are called the Valar
There are 14 Valar total, but in this post I will only be talking about the Valar referenced in Rings of Power because this post is going to be long enough as it is and some of the Valar are pretty irrelevant tbh but I highly recommend these videos on the Valar if you want to know more: herehere
Aule
Aule is known as the Smith and Smith of the Valar, concerned with rock, metal, nature of substances and works of craft. Aule created rocks, gems, minerals and all substances in which the earth is made as well as the sun and the moon. When the Elves came to Valinor many of them became Aule's students and friends. The greatest of his students, the Elf Feanor, would craft the Silmarils which would shape much of the First Age. The Silmarillion describes what happens as a result of Feanor crafting the Silmarils, as well as other stories of the First Age.
Aulë created the Dwarves because he was unwilling to wait for the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men) to appear. Ilúvatar found out about this and chastened Aulë, since only Ilúvatar can create life. Aulë humbly repented, offering his children (the Dwarves) to the will of Ilúvatar, and Ilúvatar accepted the dwarves as his adopted children. Since Ilúvatar had decided that the Elves were to be the first-born race, he put the Dwarves to sleep until the Elves woke on Arda.
He is highly revered among the Dwarves obvi since he created them, and he is referenced A LOT by Durin and others in the Rings of Power.
Manwe
Manwe was the leader of the Ainur, King of the Valar and of Arda. He was the greatest in authority, but not power of all the Valar, with Melkor being more powerful. The winds, airs and birds were his servants. Manwë along with Aulë and Ulmo were the chief architects of Arda. Manwe was said to be one of the only Valar who took counsel from Eru.
I suspect Manwe will come up again in later seasons because he plays a role in the downfall of Numenor. In cannon, Ar-Pharazôn breaks the Ban of the Valar and as a result Eru unleashes divine punishment on Numenor. The Ban of the Valar was a ban placed on the Numenoreans by the Valar. The Valar told the Numenoreans they were not allowed to sail so far West that they could not see their own shores (the Valar didn't want the Numenoreans traveling to Valinor, because they are not Elves and are not allowed in), but Ar-Pharazôn tries to sail there anyway. The Valar feared that the Númenorean army could wreak havoc in Valinor, but they were forbidden from killing or otherwise using force against Men. Manwë, chief of the Valar, thus called upon Ilúvatar, who opened a massive chasm in the sea between Númenor and Aman which swallowed the ships in the Great Armament of Ar-Pharazôn.
Melkor/Morgoth
Morgoth or Melkor as he was originally called, was the most powerful of the Ainur that Ilúvatar created. Melkor wandered through the Void in an attempt to find and use the Flame Imperishable, the source of Ilúvatar's creative activity, and as a result Melkor developed ideas unlike those of the other Ainur. His feelings grew rebellious against his creator, but still Melkor could not find the Flame, because it was not in the Void, but within Ilúvatar.
When the Ainur made music, Melkor wove his strange thoughts into his song. His song clashed against the Theme of Ilúvatar, disturbing the Ainur around him and causing some of them to attune their music to his. For a while the Theme of Ilúvatar and the discord of Melkor warred against one another. But Eru smiled, and sent forth a new theme. Most of the Ainur joined with it, but Melkor rebelliously opposed it even more violently.
At last, many of the Ainur stopped singing in dismay, and Melkor's discords gained dominance. Eru sent out a third Theme against Melkor, sweeter and more beautiful than the others, and unquenchable. But though Melkor could not defeat it, still he opposed it. At last, Eru halted the music completely with a single chord.
Eru then told Melkor to fuck off basically, saying that all music finds its source in himself, and thus Melkor could not create his own song or truly alter the Themes of Ilúvatar. Melkor was shamed and angered by this judgement, but hid his feelings. When Eru showed the Ainur the product of their music: Eä, Melkor was one of those who begged to enter Arda, pretending to be willing to cultivate it and guide it for Ilúvatar's glory. He actually wished to dominate Arda and its creatures, especially the Children of Ilúvatar.
Morgoth corrupted many of the Ainur to his service, fought the Valar, and greatly damaged Arda. His theft of the Silmarils and wars against Elves and Men encompassed much of the history of the First Age. Eventually, Morgoth was bound in chains by the Valar and thrown into the Void, leaving the permanent damage his evils had done, and his former lieutenant Sauron, to trouble the world.
THE MAIAR
Sauron
Sauron's virtue was his love for order, planning and coordination, disliking confusion and chaos. But his obsession with order gradually overshadowed his love for the other intelligent beings of Arda, who would benefit from his planning; it became the sole object of his will. He started admiring Melkor's power to realize his designs quickly and masterfully. Unlike Melkor, who wanted to unmake and corrupt the world, Sauron wished to rule it and do what he wanted with it.
Gandalf/ the Istari
If you've seen Peter Jackson's LOTR/Hobbit films, you're probably familiar with three out of the 5 Wizards in this picture. Gandalf, Saruman, Radaghast, and the two blue wizards (and none for the blue wizards bye) are all Maiar. They are Maiar sent by the Valar in the third age to help the people of Middle Earth fight Sauron. The Five Wizards, or Istari, as they are called by the Elves were supposed to aid the people of Middle Earth, but as powerful as they are being Maiar, they are not immune to corruption (see Saruman). I'm only going to talk about Gandalf here, because I don't care about the others tbh sorry see the Wiki if want to know more lol
Gandalf is the Maia Olórin, counted among the wisest of the Maiar. He was close with the Valar Manwe, Varda, Irmo, and Nienna. When the Valar decided to send the Istari to Middle-earth to counsel and assist all those who opposed the Dark Lord Sauron, Manwë and Varda included Olórin among the five to be sent.
At first, Olórin was nervous and described himself as too weak and afraid of Sauron. Manwë understood, and told Olórin that such was a reason why he should go, to overcome that fear. Furthermore, the One Ring, containing much of Sauron's power, presumably still existed somewhere.
As the only one of the five Istari to stay true to his errand, Olórin/Gandalf was sent back to mortal lands by Eru after he falls to the Balrog in Moria, and he became Gandalf once again.
Melien the Maia
Melian was the only member of the Ainur to have a relationship with one of the Children of Ilúvatar. She married the Teleri Elf King Thingol and together they ruled the 1st age Elven kingdom of Doriath. She is the ancestor of several important characters in Tolkien's legendarium including Elrond/Arwen, Elros, and Aragorn.
"In the dawn of Arda Melian dwelt in the gardens of Lórien and taught the nightingales how to sing. When the lights of the Two Trees mingled at noon she sang in Lórien and it is said that everything stopped...to enjoy her voice.
Around the time of the Awakening of the Elves, her love for the trees brought her to Middle-earth, filling its silence with her and her birds' voices"
In the first age, some Elves were leaving Middle Earth and returning west to Valinor. King Thingol came across Melian in the forest and became entranced: the two of them stood hand in hand, unable to move or speak for years while the trees grew around them. As a result of his absence a portion of his followers stayed behind to search for him while the rest continued on to Valinor. The Elves who remained in Middle Earth would soon reunite with their King and Thingol would form the kingdom of Doriath. Melian would provide magical protection for Doriath, preventing anyone less powerful than Melian from entering. Through her daughter Luthien, Melian's bloodline is passed down through the lines of Elves and Men.
Balrogs are also Maiar. They were the Maiar who followed Morgoth to middle earth shortly after the creation of Arda.
PT 2. Featuring Elrond and Fam coming soon hopefully
praying that the cuts aren't a mess when this gets posted
Source: Me with help from wiki and gateway
Pictures by: Ted Nasmith, Kamehame, Elena Kukanova, Kimberly80 on DeviantArt