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Alfirin · 10-05-2009, 07:27 PM

There is little doubt that the "eye" whether physical or not, had great signficance to Sauron, it is after all the symbol he chose for his emblem and what his Orcs (and presumably men) were marked with (as the WK's forces were marked with the White Moon and Saruman's Uruk-Hai used the White hand). Heck even the Flies in Mordor were marked with the red eye. That sound like something more than a mere "metaphorical construct to me"

As for whether Saurons pysical eyes were red I'm not sure but I think its possible. We actually get to "see" sauron's eye in the story I think; unless I've been wrong all these years, I've always beleived that the Eye Frodo saw in Galadriel's Mirror was Saurons actual factual physical eye that if one were to physically be in the room with Sauron and look at him in person he would have eyes as described, yellow, slit pupiled, wreathed in flame and ringed with darkness (as for the lidless thing, I dont know whether sauron actually had no eyelids of this was a metephor for the fact he never slept and therefore never closed them)

As for the beam that may or may not indicatethere being a eye on the tower seperate from Sauron's body. The top of the tower is Sauron's Scrying room (the place where he keeps his Palatiri (the line you quote indicates there is a physical beam there sometimes it doesn't necessarily follow that there one there at all times. As to the nature of the beam I have a little theory, we know that Sauron makes use of a Palatiri and that Palatiri can be used for veiwing as well as communcation. What if what we are seeing whne we see the red beam is Sauron's eye being transmitted through the Palantir like a light being focused through a lens; a visible path of his vision. Granted we hear no mention of such a phyical trace being seen with any of the other "scryings" with a Palatir, but I'm willing to be that Sauron is the first being using one who has actual physical light coming out of his eyes (yes, Elvish eyes "shine" but that's not the same as having actual physical light coming out) at least that's how I see it.

10-05-2009, 07:27 PM	#3
Alfirin Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 435	There is little doubt that the "eye" whether physical or not, had great signficance to Sauron, it is after all the symbol he chose for his emblem and what his Orcs (and presumably men) were marked with (as the WK's forces were marked with the White Moon and Saruman's Uruk-Hai used the White hand). Heck even the Flies in Mordor were marked with the red eye. That sound like something more than a mere "metaphorical construct to me" As for whether Saurons pysical eyes were red I'm not sure but I think its possible. We actually get to "see" sauron's eye in the story I think; unless I've been wrong all these years, I've always beleived that the Eye Frodo saw in Galadriel's Mirror was Saurons actual factual physical eye that if one were to physically be in the room with Sauron and look at him in person he would have eyes as described, yellow, slit pupiled, wreathed in flame and ringed with darkness (as for the lidless thing, I dont know whether sauron actually had no eyelids of this was a metephor for the fact he never slept and therefore never closed them) As for the beam that may or may not indicatethere being a eye on the tower seperate from Sauron's body. The top of the tower is Sauron's Scrying room (the place where he keeps his Palatiri (the line you quote indicates there is a physical beam there sometimes it doesn't necessarily follow that there one there at all times. As to the nature of the beam I have a little theory, we know that Sauron makes use of a Palatiri and that Palatiri can be used for veiwing as well as communcation. What if what we are seeing whne we see the red beam is Sauron's eye being transmitted through the Palantir like a light being focused through a lens; a visible path of his vision. Granted we hear no mention of such a phyical trace being seen with any of the other "scryings" with a Palatir, but I'm willing to be that Sauron is the first being using one who has actual physical light coming out of his eyes (yes, Elvish eyes "shine" but that's not the same as having actual physical light coming out) at least that's how I see it.