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Since he is a powerful being who is seemingly supernatural, could he be considered a god of some type?

nuggetsnack
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    Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about what you mean by a "god". You're pretty clearly not using the Judaeo-Christian definition. – Mark Olson Jan 16 '19 at 01:57
  • No, I don't mean an all-powerful, indestructible being. Here is the definition of "god". https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/god – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:10
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    Two points: First, There's actually more than one definition in your reference. It would help the clarity of your question of you took your preferred definition and added it to the question. Secondly, you really ought to judge creatures in Tolkien's universe by his rules (as best we can discern them) and not by the rules of some other book or game or culture. – Mark Olson Jan 16 '19 at 02:14
  • That's just the problem. So many people define a god differently, which makes it hard for me to answer his question. I have been searching for a word that describes Sauron perfectly and have only found one: demon. What are Tolkien's rules? He only defines Ainur as "divine spirits". Naturally, we translate "divine spirits" to angels. However, Tolkien doesn't include words like angel or god. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:20
  • I've nominated this question to be closed as it is primarily opinion based. OP is making no effort to clarify what answers will be acceptable, but simply expresses some vague dissatisfaction with the two answers provided so far because of some confusion about what it might mean for Sauron to be called or not called a "god". – cryptarch Jan 16 '19 at 02:23
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    Heh. If it makes it hard for you who are asking the question, how much harder is it for people answering it?

    (Also, in one of his letters, Tolkien explicitly says that Gandalf (and the other Istari) are angels. This would suggest that Sauron is one also, though at the start of the book it would appear that he is an angel in the process of falling (as is Saruman) and not one yet wholly fallen.)

     – Mark Olson Jan 16 '19 at 02:25
  • Perhaps you misunderstood my question. I am trying to disprove my classmate, and am taking his arguments as mine. Whether he is a deity, divinity, demon etc. etc or just a powerful force in Middle-Earth matters because they all have different ranks. Since Tolkien was so big on words and names I should be able to find more proof in the book itself. This might not be the best website to post this question, but I appreciate your output. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:35
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    What makes you believe they have "ranks" of any sort (beyond "mortal/immortal")? – Matt Gutting Jan 16 '19 at 17:49

2 Answers2

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To borrow from another answer, the TL;DR answer is (emphasis mine)

No

Sauron wasn't always evil. He began his life as a Maia, essentially an angel, and of the same class as Gandalf and the other wizards. He was eventually corrupted by Morgoth, and became his most powerful lieutenant, but he never really had the same motives as Morgoth. Morgoth was one of the Valar (demigods or Archangels), and was far more powerful than Sauron; in fact, Morgoth was the second most powerful entity in the universe after Eru Ilúvatar (who is basically analogous to the Judeo-Christian god). While Morgoth was still around, Sauron seems to have served him very faithfully, but after Morgoth's defeat and exile into the void, Sauron showed himself to be somewhat different from his former master.

So to sum it up, you have on the power charts

  1. Eru Ilúvatar (God)
  2. Morgoth
  3. Sauron

Sauron wants to be God, he just never gets there

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Machavity
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  • I know he wasn't the most powerful. However, what keeps from making him a god? He had power over other evil forces in Middle-Earth e.g. orcs and Olog-hai. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 01:49
  • @nuggetsnack What stopped him was most of Middle-Earth showing up on his front doorstep and fighting a war that destroyed him. The One Ring is simply his bank-shot to try and regain power someday – Machavity Jan 16 '19 at 01:51
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    @nuggetsnack: If by a "god" you mean "a powerful being" then sure. But a "god" that is defeated at least three times that we know of by humans and elves is a pretty miserable excuse for a god. – Mark Olson Jan 16 '19 at 01:55
  • @Machavity I didn't mean "god" as in king or lord. Like how the angel Lucifer never got the chance to take over the world, but Satanists still worship him as if he had. Lucifer tried to, yes. But he never did. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 01:56
  • Your confusion about what Satanists really believe is simultaneously offensive and amusing. – cryptarch Jan 16 '19 at 01:57
  • @cryptarch Lucifer is another name for Satan. What I meant to say was Theistic Satanists. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:01
  • @nuggetsnack Even theistic Satanists do not all believe that the entity they commune with is identical to the romantic figure of a fallen angel which Christians find so titillating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_Satanism – cryptarch Jan 16 '19 at 02:05
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    "do not all" but some do. My point: some people out there still worship this figure. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:08
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    Your list implies that Sauron was the third most powerful being in the universe; that is far from true. – chepner Jan 25 '19 at 16:12
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In The Silmarillion, we see the origin of many of the most important beings in Tolkien's Legendarium. Amongst the spiritual beings collectively referred to as Ainur, there were two orders of beings relevant to the discussion: the Valar and the Maiar.

The Valar were greatly more powerful than the Maiar, and many (or maybe all) Maiar served one of the Valar. The Valar are equivalent to a pantheon of gods, albeit subservient to a yet greater and more abstract creator being referred to as Eru Ilúvatar. The Maiar, on the other hand, are more like what most people in a European-based culture would think of as "angels".

So now I can answer your question:

Sauron was a Maiar, as were the wizards Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and a couple of others. This made him much less powerful than the Valar; in fact, he served the Vala called Morgoth.

That he seemed more powerful than the wizards had to do with the condition that the wizards did not take over and interfere with the lands of Middle-earth.

Edlothiad
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cryptarch
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  • Some angels are considered as "gods" by many people around the world. Personally, I consider Sauron to be a demon; an evil spirit. I guess it all depends on how one defines a god. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 01:52
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    @nuggetsnack You seem to be saying that you had already decided in advance what Answer you want; if there is no confusion in your mind then why did you ask the question? I've given the reason why Sauron is not a God: because there is an order of beings greater than him, who constitute a Tolkeinian Pantheon, and one of whom is Sauron's master. – cryptarch Jan 16 '19 at 01:54
  • The difference is the wording. "God" means a being who is independent, self-existent, all-powerful, omniscient. "god" is a being believed to have more than natural attributes and powers. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 01:58
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    @nuggetsnack If you would like to dictate artificial definitions as a constraint on what answers you will accept, you should make it clear in your Question. – cryptarch Jan 16 '19 at 02:01
  • https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/god here is the definition of god if you don't accept mine – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:13
  • @nuggetsnack Sauron also does not fit that definition, for reasons already described in both the Answers you've received so far. – cryptarch Jan 16 '19 at 02:16
  • Exactly. I strongly disagree with him in thinking that Sauron is a god. Yet the differences in the definition of a god make it hard to prove this point. Take these definitions, for example: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/god – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 02:22
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    @nuggetsnack If you pick a definition for "god" that does not describe Sauron, then Sauron is not a god. If you pick a definition for "god" that does describe Sauron, then Sauron is a god. You should specify the definition in your question, and a link to a page with multiple definitions does not really help. – Tashus Jan 16 '19 at 19:09
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    Sauron would be considered the equivalent of, say the classical Greek demigod. Capable of miraculous feats, far beyond those of mortals, with special powers and abilities, and might very well be worshiped as a god by mortals, but a clear level below the Valar, who would be equivalent to the Greek gods, and certainly beneath Eru Ilúvatar, who would be the equivalent of the omnipotent modern monotheistic conception of a god. – Keith Morrison Jan 16 '19 at 21:19
  • @KeithMorrison That is more of an answer that I was looking for. Last night I was thinking and thinking about the whole thing and today I woke up with the answers I needed. Thanks for the helpful comment. – nuggetsnack Jan 16 '19 at 23:50
  • @nuggetsack Sauron is a Maia,which were created to assist the Vala, so no Sauron is not a god – turinsbane Nov 17 '20 at 15:12
  • @nuggetsucks No, Sauron is not a god – turinsbane Nov 17 '20 at 15:13