Ungoliant

Ungoliant (Sindarin; IPA: ) was a primordial taking the shape of a gigantic spider. She was initially an ally of Melkor in Aman, and for a short time in Middle-earth as well. She was a distant mother of Shelob, and the oldest and first giant spider of Arda.
== Biography ==
=== Origin ===
The true origin of Ungoliant was unknown, even to the Valar. It was said that she descended from the Darkness that lay about Arda and was once an ally of Melkor when he looked down upon the world with envy. Considering that the Ainur passed through the Void while venturing from the Timeless Halls to Arda, it is likely she was simply a powerful Ainu in the form of a spider, or a being from the Void itself.
=== Early years ===
When Melkor was defeated and imprisoned by the Lords of the West after the first Elves awoke in Cuiviénen, Ungoliant escaped the attacks of the Valar and the hunters of Oromë and fled to the southern part of Aman. There, in a ravine south of the mountain Hyarmentir, she established her dark abode and took the physical form of a monstrous spider, and craved and sucked up all light she could find. After each feeding, she spun dark webs of gloom that strangled all passing light.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter VIII: "Of the Darkening of Valinor"
=== Alliance with Melkor ===
Eventually, Melkor sought out Ungoliant in order to exact his revenge against the Valar and the Elves. He came to her in Avathar and told her of his plans. Though she was tempted greatly by Melkor's plan for her to drink the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, she feared the power of the Valar and was hesitant to accompany him. To mollify her, Melkor offered to sate her hunger with whatever she wished if she would aid him. She agreed, and they came shortly thereafter to Ezellohar, where she drained the Trees of their sap, poisoned them, and drank the Wells of Varda dry. The Unlight produced by Ungoliant stymied the pursuit of Oromë and Tulkas, and Melkor escaped to Middle-earth with her. However, her consumption of power of the Trees and the Wells caused her to swell to a size and shape so vast and hideous that even Melkor began to grow afraid.
When they arrived in Lammoth in Middle-earth, Melkor, now known as Morgoth, hoped to escape to the ruins of Angband where the remnants of his forces awaited him. Suspecting that he intended to leave his promise to her unfulfilled, Ungoliant demanded the gems that Morgoth had stolen from Formenos before they could reach Angband. She devoured them, and grew to an even more monstrous size. She then demanded that Morgoth surrender to her the Silmarils. However, Morgoth refused, and she attacked him. Weaving her dark webs, she attempted to enmesh him in her nets and take the Silmarils by force. Morgoth gave out a terrible cry of pain as she attacked, which was heard by the Balrogs hibernating under the ruins of Angband. They awoke and immediately rushed to the aid of their Lord, tearing apart Ungoliant's webbing with their fiery whips and forcing her to break off her attack. She fled, and the Balrogs prepared to pursue and destroy her, but they were checked by Morgoth, who ordered them to return with him to Angband.
Ungoliant's attack on Morgoth left an echoing scream ever after on the land, giving the area the name Lammoth, where it was said that any clamor would echo back from surrounding hills with his voice.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
=== Final years & legacy ===
Driven off by the Balrogs, Ungoliant fled to Ered Gorgoroth where she bred with the Great Spiders that dwelt there, increasing the terror and power of her kind. The creatures that later infested the nearby Nan Dungortheb were her surviving offspring and descendants, including Shelob who dwelt from the Second and Third Ages onwards on the borders of Mordor, as her last surviving child.The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Four, Ch. IX: "Shelob's Lair" It is said that Ungoliant ultimately perished at her own hands when, in her ever-growing hunger, she eventually devoured herself.
== Appearance ==
The origins of Ungoliant are unspecified, except that she had been a spirit, entering Arda and taking the form of a giant spider. As a spirit being, she would only be perceptible to those that could perceive spirits and the spirit world. It is implied that her spirit form was one of pure darkness, reflected in her physical form. Since the Valar, Maiar, and other spirits in the physical world freely took on forms that reflected their nature, Ungoliant's terrifying and monstrous form did the same. While her form was described as being that of a giant spider, and she is credited as the "first" giant spider, the narrative indicates that, much like her descendant Shelob, she had many features that distinguished her from the common form of a spider.
== Etymology ==
The Sindarin name Ungoliant in Quenya is Ungweliantë, meaning "Dark Spider" from ungwë ("dark") and liantë ("spider").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
The Eldar called her Virilomë (Wirilomë in Vanyarin Quenya) or Gloomweaver.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter V: "The Tale of Eärendel" In Sindarin, this name is translated into Gwerlum.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I
== Other versions ==
In the state of the mythology in 1916, when J.R.R. Tolkien had gone to serve in the First World War, the first precursor to Ungoliant was Ungwë-Tuita, the 'Spider of Night', who once was close to ensnaring Eärendil, and dwelt in Ruamorë.John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War, ch. 6, pg. 127 Even earlier, before the The Book of Lost Tales, she was called Gungliont. After helping Melkor destroy the Two Trees, she left, instead of attracting Melkor as in earlier versions. 
== Gallery ==
File:Ungoliant.jpg|Morgoth meets Ungoliant, by John Howe
File:Ungoliant and Morgoth in Valinor.jpg|Morgoth and Ungoliant in Valinor
File:Diana-franco-the-bargain-with-ungoliant.jpg|Ungoliant demands the Silmarils from Morgoth.
File:Morgoth and Ungoliant by Protoguy.jpg|Ungoliant attacks Morgoth after refusing to give up the Silmarils.
File:Balrogs defending morgoth from ungoliant by jovandarkart dd720cs-fullview.jpg|The Balrogs aiding their master against Ungoliant
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ዑንጎሊኣንት
Arabic 	أونقوليانت
Armenian 	Ունգոլիանտ
Assamese 	অংগোলিয়েন্ট
Belarusian Cyrillic	Унголіянт
Bengali 	উন্গলিয়ান্ট
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Унголиант
Catalan 	Ungòliant
Chinese 	昂哥立安
Georgian 	უნგოლიანთი
Greek 	Ουνγκόλιαντ
Gujarati 	ઊઙોલિઅન્ત
Hebrew 	אונגוליאנט
Hindi 	ऊङोलिअन्त
Japanese 	ウンゴリアント
Kannada 	ಉಂಗೋಲಿಂಟ್
Kazakh 	Ұнголіант (Cyrillic) Ungoliant (Latin)
Konkani 	अनगोलिअंट
Korean 	웅골리안트
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Унголиант
Laotian 	ູງໂລິະນຕ
Macedonian Cyrillic	Унголиант
Maithili 	अनगोलिअन्ट
Marathi 	ऊङ्गोलिअन्त
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Унголиант
Nepalese 	ऊङोलिअन्त
Norwegian 	Ungolianth
Persian 	اونگولیانت
Polish 	Ungolianta
Punjabi 	ਅਨਗਲਾਇੰਗਿਕ
Russian 	Унголиант
Sanskrit 	ऊङोलिअन्त्
Serbian 	Унголијант (Cyrillic) Ungolijant (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ඌඞොලිඅන්ත්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Унголиант
Tamil 	ஊஙொலிஅந்த்
Telugu 	ఊఙొలిఅన్త
Thai 	อุงโกลิอันท์
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Унґоліанта
Urdu 	ونگولیانت
Uzbek 	Унголиант (Cyrillic) Ungoliant (Latin)
Yiddish 	ונגאָליאַנט
== References ==
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Mystery
Category:Villains
Category:Spiders
Category:Demons
Category:Servants of Morgoth
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
de:Ungoliant
es:Ungoliant
fr:Ungoliant
it:Ungoliant
pl:Ungolianta
ru:Унголиант
sk:Ungoliant
uk:Унґоліанта