Eye of Sauron

"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 late Second 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 III "Mount Doom"

In adaptations[]

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film 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[]

• Palantíri

Gallery[]

Translations[]

References[]

External links[]

• Sauron Eye live animation following mouse