Name: Balor
Appearance: The two most important
features of balor are the fact that he has a cow face and a powerful
eye. Some depict him as three-eyed, some as one. Some believe it’s the
origin of the cyclops stories. Some see him more as a demon and put
wings on him. With the cow-face, he typically has horns and is
depicted as standing on two legs. In some sense he can be compared to
a minotaur, but typically looks far more demonic than the half-man,
half-cow creature people imagine in the minotaur stories.
History: Balor can be found in folklore dating back
to the 19th century. This creature is from Irish tales. Similar to how
there are different visualizations of the creature, there are
different stories surrounding the Balor. These range from how he was
killed, what he signified, where he resided, and why and when he died.
There are also similarities between Balor and Ysbaddaden from Welsh
mythology.
Info: In most stories, Balor is
killed by his grandson. He is a giant with a dangerous eye that causes
damage when open. In order to be killed, the eye usually has to be
destroyed. In one notable version, the eyelid takes several men to
left by a ring attached to it in order for it to be destroyed. In none
of the depictions I found did Balor seem to be a character of good
repute.
Additional Notes: Something
interesting I found while researching Balor is that the story has a
lot of parallels with Lord of the Rings. When you think about the
important element of the ring, and the dangerous eye. It is also a
demonic creature that has imagery similar to Balrog that Gandolf
battles. Balrog… Balor… coincidence? Perhaps everyone else already
knows the parallels and realizes J.R.R. Tolkein borrowed from these
myths when writing his story, but it was news to me and I found it
fascinating!
Credit and Additional Reading: If
you found the above interesting and want to read more from where I got
some of my material, check out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balor
Keep an eye out for the short story I will write about Balor in the
next three posts!
Happy Adventuring,
G.G. Marshall
Read a short story inspired by this creature!
Part 1 (Avail 2/15/24): A Song of Remembrance (1)
Part 2 (Avail 3/21/24): A Song of Remembrance (2)
Part 3 (Avail 4/18/24): A Song of Remembrance (3)