Eye of Sauron

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John Howe - The Eye of Sauron

"But suddenly the Mirror went altogether dark, as dark as if a hole had been opened in the world of sight...In the abyss there appeared a single Eye that slowly grew, until it filled nearly all the Mirror. So terrible was it that Frodo stood rooted, unable to cry out or to withdraw his gaze. The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat's, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing."

― The Mirror of Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

The Eye of Sauron, called by many various names, was the symbol of Sauron the Dark Lord following the loss of The One Ring. This symbol was adopted to show his unceasing vigilance and piercing perception, and was displayed on the weaponry of his servants, or at least the Orcs, as an emblem.

Sauron's Eye as Frodo sees it in the Mirror of Galadriel is the only feature of his later form described in detail. It is yellow and rimmed with fire, with a slit pupil, "a window into nothing." The colour is compared to that of a cat's eye, but because of the references to Sauron's Lidless Eye, it may also resemble that of a snake, such as an adder. Readers differ as to whether Sauron's eyes were literally lidless and resembled what Frodo saw, or instead the Eye was only a symbol that Frodo saw in the Mirror in an elaborate form.

Portrayal in adaptations

1995-8: Middle-earth Collectible Card Game:

The card "Eye of Sauron" appeared in The Wizards (the first set for the game), used as to improve the prowess of each automatic-attack against other players. "The Lidless Eye" appeared in the set The Lidless Eye, and can be used by players to enhance their general influence.

2001-2003: The Lord of the Rings (film series):

In Peter Jackson's film adaptation, the Eye featured as a physical, living object between the pinnacles of Barad-dûr. This is usually interpreted as Sauron's actual physical form during the War of the Ring, however, in the extended edition of Return of the King, there is a scene where the camera zooms into the pupil of the Eye, briefly revealing Sauron in his humanoid, armored form. The Eye also literally searched the lands with a red beam of light like a spotlight, and in the film the light could be seen constantly sweeping the lands. It was quenched when the One Ring was cast into Orodruin.

2012-2014: The Hobbit (film series):

In The Desolation of Smaug, the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy, the Eye of Sauron is shown, in which the pupil slowly becomes Sauron's shape as we have seen it in The Lord of the Rings (movies). Once we zoom into the Eye, we go through the pupil and see the Eye again, as an endless circle of the Void, portraying the 'window into nothing' out of Tolkien's description.

See also

• Images of the Eye of Sauron