| NOTE: This page is only about his novel incarnation as the Rankin-Bass and Ralph Bakshi incarnations of Sauron were not voted Pure Evil, and thus only the novel version of Sauron's info and crimes should be put here. |
| “ | It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him, putting forward the name of Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking to enchain Men in servitude to themselves. For they are the oracle of this Eru, which speaks only what they will. But he that is their master shall yet prevail, and he will deliver you from this phantom; and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger than they. | „ |
| ~ Sauron deceiving Ar-Pharazôn by lying that Eru Ilúvatar is evil and Morgoth is good. |
| “ | Alas, for the weakness of the great! For a mighty king is Gil-galad, and wise in all lore is Master Elrond, and yet they will not aid me in my labours. Can it be that they do not desire to see other lands become as blissful as their own? But wherefore should Middle-earth remain for ever desolate and dark, whereas the Elves could make it as fair as Eressëa, nay even as Valinor? And since you have not returned thither, as you might, I perceive that you love this Middle-earth, as do I. Is it not then our task to labour together for its enrichment, and for the raising of all the Elven-kindreds that wander here untaught to the height of that power and knowledge which those have who are beyond the Sea? | „ |
| ~ Sauron, as Annatar, to the Elves. |
Mairon, known after his betrayal of the Valar as Sauron, is the main antagonist of the Middle-earth legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Once the greatest smith in all of Aulë, he joined with the first Dark Lord Morgoth during the First Age, becoming his first lieutenant. During the Second Age, Sauron became the second Dark Lord of Middle-earth who resided in Mordor and created the One Ring, which he lost upon his defeat.
During the Third Age, his goal was to reclaim the One Ring and rule Arda in darkness, but the Ring's destruction would ultimately be his downfall. He was also the archenemy of Aragorn, the King of Gondor, Frodo, the Ring Bearer, Gandalf the Grey (later White), and Lady Galadriel.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- While he is a Maia and was intended to do good things, he also valued craftsmanship and order and despised the ways of wreaking havoc on lands that were not his to possess. He chose to become corrupt because he believed things would be better if done his way.
- He only joined Morgoth because he saw the will and power that would help him achieve his personal ends quicker than if he pursued them alone.
- However, while Melkor wanted to either control or destroy Middle-earth itself, Mairon's desire was to dominate the minds and wills of its creatures for what he perceived to be their own benefit.
- However, after the First Age ended, he allowed his pride to consume him due to how much his knowledge was admired by those around him and how much he could influence them, and he only cared about gaining power for himself ever since, thus nullifying any good intentions he had.
- However, while Melkor wanted to either control or destroy Middle-earth itself, Mairon's desire was to dominate the minds and wills of its creatures for what he perceived to be their own benefit.
- He forcibly corrupted the Witch-king of Angmar and twisted his mind, which is what turned him into a Ringwraith, and also corrupted Saruman, as he originally tried to use the palantír to stop Sauron, only for it to corrupt him, making him responsible for all of their actions and crimes, as well as all the crimes that were done by his armies under his rule.
- There is no indication that Sauron saw the Ring as anything but an artifact of power and an embodiment of his own will; despite it being sentient, he didn't care for it genuinely, as when it was dropped into the fires of Mount Doom by Gollum's slip, he was just enraged that the tool he was going to use to dominate Middle-earth was destroyed.
- He is responsible for all the evilness, destruction, and corruption that followed Morgoth, as well as all the suffering and wickedness; if it hadn't been for him, Middle-earth would have been a much more peaceful place.
Background[]
- He joined Morgoth and assisted him in his attempt to conquer Arda, wanting what he believed was absolute order for a good cause.
- He maintained apparent fidelity to the Valar but secretly fed Morgoth information about their dealings.
- It was only when Morgoth established his strongholds in Middle-earth that Mairon left Valinor and openly declared his allegiance, becoming a recognized foe of the Valar.
- Before Melkor's captivity, Sauron commanded the fortress of Angband and acted as his lieutenant, but when it was sacked and Melkor captured, he fled the scene.
- Even though at first he was genuinely remorseful and wanted to return to Valinor, the cost of redemption proved to be too great for him, as his hubris was strong and he got a taste for power as the servant of Morgoth and his lieutenant, as he wasn't about to settle for much less, let alone whatever penance the Valar were undoubtedly going to impose on him because of his rebellion.
First Age[]
- He led a war against the Elves, conquering the Elvish island of Tol Sirion and renaming it Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves, and he became the Lord of the Werewolves there.
- He duped a man into betraying his comrades by showing him a vision of his wife dying, only to reveal she was already dead and torture him, "reuniting them."
- During the Quest for the Silmaril, Beren and Finrod, King of Nargothrond, were captured by him, who defeated Finrod in a duel with songs of power.
- He stripped them of their Orc disguises and cast them into the dark pits, where werewolves devoured their companions. And when a werewolf came to attack Beren, Finrod wrestled with it and killed it, but he died soon after of his injuries.
- After Lúthien and Huan arrived at the bridge of Tol-in-Gaurhoth, Sauron sent wolves to capture Lúthien, but all were slain by Huan. Later, Sauron took the form of a werewolf and leaped to attack Lúthien, only to be intercepted and subdued by Huan. He yielded the tower to Lúthien and escaped in the form of a "vampire."
Second Age[]
- He deceived the races of Middle-earth with the Rings of Power, which included nine Kings of Men blinded by their own power hunger while concealing his creation of the One Ring to Rule Them All. This process eventually allowed Sauron to corrupt the Nazgûl into becoming his slaves, which is described as a fate worse than death, and attempt to conquer Middle-earth.
- It also made him responsible for corrupting Isildur and Gollum through the Ring.
- He tortured Celebrimbor to death and used his corpse as a banner during his war against the Elves.
- He overran Eriador and ravaged the lands, killing Elves and Men as he went.
- He turned Númenor to darkness by having it worship Morgoth and carry out human sacrifices, and he managed to do this by lying to their king, Ar-Pharazôn, that Morgoth was good and Eru Ilúvatar was evil, posing himself as Annatar, "Lord of Gifts."
- He duped Ar-Pharazôn and his army into attempting to conquer the Undying Lands and replace Eru, making him indirectly responsible for Númenor's destruction due to Eru's interference and preventing him from ever taking a fair form again.
- He attacked and captured Minas Ithil and destroyed the White Tree.
- Possibly killed most, if not all, of the Entwives (though their fate is still unknown).
- During the War of the Last Alliance, he killed Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor, and Gil-galad, High King of the Ñoldor, and attempted to do the same to Elendil's son, Isildur.
Third Age[]
- When he became the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, Sauron captured and imprisoned Thráin II in the fortress, where he tortured him, took the last of the Dwarven Rings of Power from him, and left him to die in the dungeon.
- He would eventually torture Gollum as well in the land of Mordor, after which he sent the Nazgûl out to kill Frodo and claim the Ring.
- He worked with the fallen Istar named Saruman, the latter of whom was ordered to wipe out the kingdom of Rohan, down to the last child.
- He psychologically tormented Pippin when he looked into the palantír. Pippin described Sauron's laughter as "like being stabbed with knives."
- He attacked Gondor and Minas Tirith, intending on slaughtering all their population, including the women and children.
- He used his palantír to drive Denethor II into madness and despair, causing him to commit suicide.
- He fed his prisoners to his "pet," Shelob, not out of care for her but just to see others suffer.
- He attempted to conquer Middle-earth again by killing all of Frodo's companions and the allied forces of Rohan and Gondor during the Battle of the Black Gate.
- He wanted to enslave the race of Men and wipe out the Elves upon reclaiming the One Ring, as well as demolish the land of Middle-earth and corrupt it to darkness, such as the Shire, and then conquer the entire world.
Trivia[]
- The primary difference between Sauron and Morgoth—his fellow Pure Evil master—is that Morgoth wanted to destroy the universe, which he could successfully accomplish in Dagor Dagorath, while Sauron wanted to rule the world.
- While the book version of Sauron is Pure Evil, due to being a manipulative sadist, which was shown in The Silmarillion, his lack of personality and motives in both the Ralph Bakshi and Rankin-Bass movies renders him not even close to qualifying in those versions. Had it not been for The Silmarillion and the following works, the book version of Sauron wouldn't have qualified as Pure Evil either.
External Links[]
- Sauron on the Villains Wiki.
- Sauron on the VS Battles Wiki.
- Sauron on the One Wiki To Rule Them All.
- Sauron on the Tolkien Gateway.
- Sauron on the Dark Lords Wiki.
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 Pure Evils
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