Ulmo, taken after the Olympian Gods?

J.R.R Tolkien draws largely on the legends and myths of Greek Gods and Goddesses to create his world of Arda, particularly in regard to the deities of Arda who are called the Valar. It seems as though Tolkien merely used the Gods and Goddesses of the Greek into his world, tweaked them slightly, renamed them and then put them in his novel. This borrowing of the cultures, legends, and myths from the Greek is clearly illustrated in the character of Ulmo, Tolkien’s Water-God.



The Valar are one of the aspects that give The Silmarillion its epic scope. They’re identical to the Greek gods, sitting high atop Mt. Olympus which is a counterpart of Tolkien’s Manwë ruling from atop mount Taniquetil. Zeus also has a brother, Poseidon, who is the ruler of all waters on Earth and is second in power to Zeus. Similarly, Manwë likewise has a brother Ulmo who rules all the waters of Arda and is one of Manwë’s most trusted friends. There are also physical similarities between Ulmo and Poseidon, such as they are both depicted as having giant beards and carrying a trident in numerous fan art.

Some of Ulmo’s characteristics can also be compared to the Greek God Apollo when he finds his oracle at Delphi. After Apollo slayed the serpent known as Python who lives at Delphi, Apollo is taking thought to who should occupy his temple when he sees a ship sailing in the distance. Apollo transforms himself into a dolphin, and leads the sailors to Delphi to be priests in his temple. At first the men despair at the lack of farmland, but Apollo assures them that they will live well on the gifts brought to the temple. This is a common theme seen where a God like figure leads beings lesser than himself to a better life over the sea. It is impossible not to see the parallels this has with Tolkien’s accounts of Ulmo leading the elves, particularly the Noldor and the Vanyar, over the sea to Valinor where they live in the presence of the Valar in bliss and comfort.

Ulmo also prefers to live away from the rest of the Valar in Valinor and instead spends the majority of his time wandering the many waters of Arda. Ulmo mostly meets often with the Elves, who he loves and defends on their behalf in the council of the Valar.  Apollo has a similar liking for a magical people of his world, the Hyperboreans (a mythical race of giants). Like Ulmo, Apollo spends little time among the other Gods and Goddesses on Mount Olympus, rather he spends the majority of his time at his Oracle in Delphi. When Apollo is not in Delphi, he spends three months of every year among the Hyperboreans. The Hyperboreans also had a hidden home similar to Tolkien’s description of Tol Eressëa. The descriptions of these mythical people show that they are a source of inspiration for Tolkien’s Elves. The Hyperboreans are portrayed as a magical people that are somewhat more than human. Tolkien not only draws from the Hyperborean people when creating his Elves, he also takes inspiration from their relationship with Apollo to help create his Water-God character of Ulmo and his special relationship with the Elves of Middle-earth and Tol Eressëa.


Comments

  1. tom blakeMarch 17, 2018 at 6:24 PM

    I love the detail here! How do you think Ulmo as Poseidon factors into, say, Helen Young's book? Is Tolkien's fashioning of the Valar part of a white tradition of hearkening back to Greek mythology? What do you think?

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