In the movies he does not appear, yet there is an extremely powerful god in the world of The Lord of the Rings who accomplished great deeds with his creative power. In doing so, he created holy beings, including a great villain.
Who is this god? In the world of The Lord of the Rings, there are numerous mysterious and powerful beings. Eru Ilúvatar stands at the top. He is the god responsible for the creation of the world and its inhabitants.
In the movies or the books that tell the story of Frodo and the destruction of the Ring, Eru Ilúvatar does not appear. Only in “The Silmarillion,” the book published after J.R.R. Tolkien’s death, is this god mentioned.
While he is certainly comparable to the gods of our world – such as those of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam – the story of creation differs significantly from known narratives.
The Creation of the Ainur
How was the world created? Eru Ilúvatar is a being that is eternal. This means that the god has always been there and will never disappear. Only through the power of his thoughts did he create the Ainur. Translated, this means “The Holy Ones.” These beings are part of the divine thoughts, they are very wise, yet originally bodiless. They are divided into Valar and Maiar, the latter includes the Istari, among them Gandalf.
The Ainur were taught by Eru Ilúvatar three musical themes, the so-called “Great Music.” From this, the universe, namely Ea, was born. Thus, the planet Arda, where Middle-earth is located, was finally created.
Remarkably, the god, though very powerful, after the creation of his world never intervened directly in events, except for one instance. Only during the downfall of Númenor did the god reshape the world.
Eru Ilúvatar is not hostile to other gods, but it is important to him to be at the top of the hierarchy. Despite his role in the world, he is hardly worshipped and revered as a great god anywhere in Middle-earth. This is also due to the fact that this aspect of being a god is not important to Eru Ilúvatar.
He prefers to observe the beings of his creation and delights in their diversity. One of them evolved into one of the great villains in Middle-earth.
Worse than Sauron
Who was created? Among the Ainur was also Melkor, who later became Morgoth and terrorized Middle-earth. He was the beginning of evil throughout Arda, which made him an even more powerful villain than Sauron.
Although Melkor was created by Eru Ilúvatar, he fell into conflict with the god. The god accused his Ainur of disturbing the peace and unleashing evil into the world. The harmony of the “Great Music” was disrupted, as Melkor himself harbored ambitions of dominion and also wanted to create as a god.
Because Eru Ilúvatar did not tolerate this behavior, it led to a rift between them, and Melkor left the halls of the god. In Middle-earth, he found powerful allies like the giant spider Ungoliant.
Melkor is a dubious part of Eru Ilúvatar’s creation. Other beings such as the Elves, Dwarves, or Men, as well as the beautiful flora and fauna of Middle-earth, are, on the other hand, among the god’s greatest achievements. Especially the Elves are among the strongest beings in Middle-earth: 9 powerful Elves from The Lord of the Rings who could easily take on Sauron’s Orcs
