Rings

“There are many magic rings in the world, Bilbo Baggins, and none of them should be used lightly.” – Lord of the Rings.

I suspect most of my readers are familiar with the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien and the movie adaptations. For those unfamiliar with The Lord of the Rings series, it takes place in a fantasy realm called Middle Earth and involves a magic ring, called the One Ring, that grants invisibility. The One Ring was created by an evil being named Sauron, who, if reunited with the ring, would obtain the power to conquer all the land. To keep Sauron from obtaining the ring, the protagonists go on a quest to a far-off land to destroy the ring and head off Armageddon.

The Lord of the Rings series, a sequel to his children’s book The Hobbit, has been loved by generations of readers. The complex and rich world he created, the beauty of his writing, and the tales of adventure have captured the imagination of many. Tolkien drew upon his vast knowledge of myths and language to build his stories. Along with incorporating many mythical creatures, mostly from Norse mythology, it’s widely thought that he adopted several classic myths about magic rings. 

There are two classic stories involving magical rings that Tolkien likely drew upon. One was the Ring of Gyges, and the other was the Ring of Andvaranaut. 

The classic Greek story of the Ring of Gyges is in Plato’s book The Republic. In this story, a shepherd finds a ring on the corpse of a giant. Shortly after, he accidentally learns that he becomes invisible if he turns the ring one way. Using the power of invisibility, the shepherd successfully seduces the queen, murders the king, and gains the throne. 

The Ring of Andvaranaut was a Norse myth about a magical ring of the same name. To summarize this rather long myth, Andvaranaut gave the wearer the power to acquire vast amounts of gold. However, it was cursed, and everyone who wore it was murdered by those who craved the ring. (Fun fact: Andvaranaut also appears in the German epic poem Nibelungenlied. The Nibelungenlied inspired Wagner’s opera Der Ring des Nibelungen.)

In The Lord of the Rings, the magic ring is more than just another myth he incorporated into the story. Nor is it simply a MacGuffin (commonly an object in a story that motivates the characters. Think of the statue in The Maltese Falcon). The One Ring is a metaphor for the dangers that can come from the desire for power. 

It should be noted that the power of the One Ring isn’t just any power. According to the story, ‘into this Ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life.’ What we find in the story is not a critique of all power but the desire, driven by hate, to have power over others. 

Would you be able to walk away from the power of the One Ring?