# The Valar?



## WishIWasArwen (Oct 4, 2003)

What are they? I really want short answers, please.

Thanks!


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## Rangerdave (Oct 4, 2003)

The Valar form the bridge between Judeo-Christian monotheism and Pagan polytheism. In addition, the Valar and the Maiar fulfill another of the purposes of myth; namely, the formalization of how divine power affects the everyday world. There are fifteen Valar . The Elves referrer to fourteen of the Valar as the “Powers of the World”, and bear a remarkably close similarity to the Olympian pantheon of Classical Greece. The fifteenth of the Valar is Melkor, later named Morgoth the Enemy. The conflict between the faithful Valar and Morgoth is the central theme in the history of the First Age of Middle-Earth as told in The Silmarillion. The Maiar are of the same order as the Valar but of lesser power. In this way, the Maiar resemble the lesser gods and demigods of Greek and Norse mythology as well as the lesser Angels in Judeo-Christian mythology. Each of the Maiar is associated with a Vala in accordance to his or her own ability and temperament. Although lesser in both power and wisdom, three of the Maiar became the primary supernatural elements in the Second and Third Ages of Middle-Earth. Gandalf, Saruman and Sauron are all of this order. 

*Lords of the Valar*

Manwë Súlimo: King of the Valar
Manwë is the Lord of the air. The closest classical references are the Egyptian sky god Amun and the Greek Zeus.

Ulmo: Lord of the Waters
The closest comparison to classical mythology is Poseidon/Neptune, unlike the Greek/Roman sea god; Ulmo is also the god of rivers, lakes and rain. Control of the weather is attributed to Ulmo.

Aulë the Smith: Lord of Substances
Aulë bears a close relation to Hephaestus/Vulcan. His influence extends to the building of all things forged. This includes mountains, caves, metal-craft and gemstones. Aulë also resembles Prometheus in that he teaches his craft to the Elves.

Oromë: The Hunter
Oromë is somewhat unique in the Tolkien pantheon. He is the hunter of fell beasts. His primary delight is in open fields, horses and hounds and is best compared to a Victorian British huntsman. A possible comparison is the Egyptian god Anhur, who is the warrior/huntsman of Re.

Namo Mandos: Lord of the Dead
Unlike the Greek Hades or the Norse Hel, Namo is simply the keeper of the houses of the dead. In addition, Namo’s dominion only extends to the Elven dead. “Whither man travels after death is unknown.”

Irmo: Lord of Visions and Dreams
As the shaper of dreams, Irmo is best compared to the Greek god of dreams Morpheus. He tends the garden of Lorien in Valanor. This garden is representative of the Elysian Fields of the Greeks: differing in that Lorien is a garden for the living rather than the dead.

Tulkas Astaldo: The Valiant
Tulkas is the closest Tolkien comes to a formal god of war. Unlike the Greek or Celtic gods of war, Tulkas is concerned with war as the final aspect of justice. The closest comparison is to Tyre, the Norse god of Justice. 

*Queens of the Valar*

Varda Elentári: Queen of the Valar
The spouse of Manwë, Varda is known as the Lady of the Stars and is most closely associated with starlight. However, her dominion seems to be all forms of light. She does not bear any resemblance any of the Classical or Northern sun gods in as much as she does not control light, but rather creates and maintains light. Varda bears even less to the Greek queen Hera; the temperament and function of the two lend no comparison. In the Tolkien mythology, Varda; named Elbereth by the Elves; is the goddess of justice, compassion and assistance.

Yavanna Kementári: Lady of the Earth
The spouse of Aulë, Yavanna is the goddess of vegetation. She is attributed with the creation of all growing things. Similarities are boundless since nearly all myths include a god/goddess of the harvest, but the closest correlation is to the Greek goddess Demeter. 

Vána: the Ever-young 
Tolkien reveals little about the wife of Oromë except that flowers and birds follow her wherever she goes. This may support the argument that Vána is the goddess of spring or rebirth. If this is the case then the likely counterpart is Persephone. 

Vairë: the Weaver 
At first glance Vairë would seem to be analogous to the Fates and Wyrds who weave the destiny of heroes. A better description of the wife of Namo would be the goddess of history. Vairë weaves the tapestry that recounts the lives and events of Middle-Earth and Valanor. There is a possible relation to the Egyptian goddess Seshet who records the lives of Pharaoh’s of the walls of tombs and palaces. 

Estë: the Gentle 
Estë resides in the garden of Lorien with her husband Namo. She is associated with rest and healing. She is comparable to the Norse goddess Eir and the Celtic goddess Dian-Cecht. Unlike these two, Estë does not teach her arts to others but offers aid and comfort to all that come to her. 

Nessa: the Graceful
Of all of Tolkien’s Valar, the least is said about Nessa. All that is known of her is that she is the wife of Tulkas and that she delights in the arts. Nessa may be a representation of the Greek Graces. Like the Graces, Nessa was the physical manifestation of elegance, charm and beauty.

Nienna: 
Last of the Valar, and perhaps the most endearing is Nienna. She resides alone grieving over the hurts of the world. Nienna is Tolkien’s goddess of mourning and continually mourns the evils of Melkor. Through her grieving, she teaches those who would learn patience, sorrow and wisdom. Interestingly enough, there are no major gods or goddess of mourning in any of the principal western mythologies. 


*The Enemy*

Melkor
The villain of the Silmarillion is Melkor. The Elven name for Melkor Morgoth (Black-King) literally means Lord of Darkness. The direct comparison is the Biblical Lucifer. Highest and most powerful of the Ainur, Melkor desires dominance over the world his discord helped to create. This desire led Melkor to become sundered from the reckoning of the Valar. Melkor is defeated by the Valar at the end of the First Age and is cast into the void, but not destroyed. Tolkien writes of Melkor “From Splendor he fell through arrogance to contempt for all things save himself, a spirit wasteful and pitiless.” This is strikingly similar to the Biblical description of Lucifer. “How you have fallen from Heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” 





Hope that helps
RD


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## WishIWasArwen (Oct 4, 2003)

So basically, they're Elvish Gods. Much like the inhabitants to Mount Olympus, to whom I believe you made reference.
Not exactly "short", but much appreciated nonetheless.


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## WishIWasArwen (Oct 4, 2003)

You never said what the Ainur are, though. I guess I have to know to fully understand Morgoth.


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## Flammifer (Oct 4, 2003)

Unfortunately, there is no short answer to this. It is rather complicated, and I'm gonna try and make this really simple (no insult intended).

The Ainur were the Valar *and* the Maiar before they were sent down to Arda (the land that encompassed Middle-earth and the Blessed Realm) by the One, Eru, that the Elves call Iluvatar, he was the most powerful being. He did not interact at all with any of the people of things that he created that were in Arda, except the Valar and Maiar.

Anyway, many long ages before the time of the Lord of the Rings, the thing that gave light to Arda (before the Sun and Moon) were the two Trees of the Valar, Telperion and Laurelin. 

Now, by this point Melkor, the only evil Vala, was the enemy of everyone. He hated the light of the Trees, so he got his friend Ungoliant the spider to poison the Trees and kill them. So there was no light.

But the Elf Feanor, who was very proud, made three perfect jewels, the Silmarils, which in them had the last light of the Two Trees before they were destroyed.

Then Melkor got a little bit annoyed coz he wanted to have the Silmarils, and so he stole them.

Then Feanor, because he was so proud wanted to get the Silmarils back, and he led a great host of Elves over the seas to Beleriand, a part of Middle-earth, where Melkor had taken the Silmarils and had set them in a great crown of iron. The Valar were opposed to all the Elves leaving, so they set a ban on the Elves ever coming back, and they named them the Exiles.

So the Elves made war against Melkor, who they called Morgoth, but he invented the dragons and the orcs and the trolls and stuff, and he had a couple of impenetrable fortresses, and the Elves had a tough time fighting the war.

I won't tell you what happened in the end, in case you ever want to read "The Silmarillion", but you said you wanted to know about the Ainur and about Melkor/Morgoth.

So there you go. Sorry about the long post.


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## Lantarion (Oct 4, 2003)

Fabulous answers, Flammifer and RD!! 
I only have one small point to nitpick, RD. 


> The Elven name for Melkor Morgoth (Black-King) literally means Lord of Darkness.


_Melkor_: 'He who arises in might'. I am unaware of the linguistic structure of this name.
_Morgoth_: This name is in Sindarin, one of Tolkien's two principal Elven languages. It is composed of two elements: _mor_, 'black, dark [E.g. _Moria_, 'Black Abyss'] and _goth_, 'enemy'. This is a name given to Melkor by the Elven smith and legendary figure Fëanor after Melkor steals his most prized possessions, the Silmarils.


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## Húrin Thalion (Oct 4, 2003)

I would seriously doubt if that was Sindarin, since it is said that Fëanor already when at the feet of Manwë accursed Melkor and named him Morgoth, the dark enemy of the world. At that time, he cannot possibly have known Sindarin. 

Måns


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## Confusticated (Oct 4, 2003)

Check this thread. Feanor didn't actually name Melkor 'Morgoth' but Morgoth is the Sindarin form of what Feanor did name him.


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## Rangerdave (Oct 6, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Lantarion _
> *
> I only have one small point to nitpick, RD.
> *



Quite so, good catch L. I can only think that my mind was working faster than my two typing fingers when I typed that.

It must be all those Beatle referrences affecting my mind again


RD


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## jallan (Oct 13, 2003)

You provided a truly excellent summary Rangerdave.

I have only a few additions to make.

Oromé (in Sindarin _Araw_) might in part be derived from the Welsh _Arawn_ Head of Annwn who appears as a hunter with a pack of white dogs with red ears.

The god of the bow who is a hunter appears in Norse myth as the wizrd hunter Ullr, in Canaanite/Phoenician mythology as Rashap/Reshpu (also asociated strongly with plague) and as the Vedic god Rudra who is a god of the wild, a plague god, a hunter, a dancer and a god of mystical inspiration (and is the modern Hindu god Shiva). Put this all together and you find Apollo as the Greek cognate, though Apollo is rather tamed in comparision.

As to Nienna, while there is no goddess of sorrow per se in any pantheon that I know of, weeping goddess are common. Demeter weeps for her daughter, Aphrodite for Adonis, the sisters of Phaithon for their bother's death. In Egypt Isis mourns for Osiris. In Norse myth Freyja weeps tears of gold for her husband Óðr.

Tolkien also specifically identifies Óðin as the Norse counterpart of Manwé, Thor as the Norse counterpart to Tulkas and Njörðr as the Norse counterpart to Ulmo.

Buit of course, despite this, Tolkien’s creations purposely don’t exactly correspond to any deities in real-world pantheons.

The closest match might be Ulmo compared to Sumerian Enki / Akkadan Ea, the god of the watery abyss from which all waters bubble up and flow, the wisest of the gods and a particular friend to mankind.

But this might be largely coincidence as I don‚t believe very much would have been known about Enki/Ea when Tolkien was creating his mythology.


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