Why Smaug Locked Himself in a Mountain for 171 Years

Comments · 59

• TO

  @TolkiensLegacy · 3 months ago · pinned

  Everyone remembers Smaug. Almost no one remembers that a COLD-DRAKE killed a Dwarf-king at his own front door in T.A. 2589 — and the films never breathed a word of it.<br>So here&apos;s the real question: was Smaug a genius for hiding in that mountain for 171 years... or was he just the most powerful coward in Middle-earth? 🐉<br>Drop your verdict below — and if you caught the connection to the Seven Rings before the ending, you&apos;re reading Tolkien the way he&apos;s meant to be read.

  21

• CO

  @cofelecmoose · 3 months ago (edited)

  He didn&apos;t.<br><br>&quot;The river runs right out of it through the great cliff at the South of the Mountain, and out of it comes the dragon too—far too often, unless he has changed his habits.”<br><br>JRR Tolkien - The Hobbit.

  29

• ST

  @stanholmes4938 · 3 months ago

  Clearly dragons are a method of taking excess money out of the economy to maintain economic value rather than go to hyperinflation with all the mining.

  15

• JA

  @jasonkaufman7748 · 3 months ago

  When a creature who lives forever decides to rest, 171 years is Nothing. Smaug was not stuck, he got in there and got out just fine.

  12

• WH

  @whynottalklikeapirat · 3 months ago

  Mountains are to dragons as restrooms are to teenagers

  10

• MO

  @mooseflapper · 3 months ago

  He was only young and had recently discovered Thrain&apos;s best of The Smiths cd. Just going thru his edgy teenage years. Painting the walls of Erebor black was part of a phase, that&apos;s all.

  9

• BL

  @blister762 · 3 months ago

  During his interrogation of Bilbo when Bilbo called himself &quot;Barrel Rider&quot; Smaug scoffed that one of the ponies he ate was must have been named &quot;Barrel&quot;. &nbsp;Smaug had left his lair after sensing a change in the air from the hidden door being opened and ate the ponies the dwarves had left as they climbed to find the secret door.

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• VA

  @vastolorde6194 · 3 months ago (edited)

  Morgoth , for the purpose of having a better control, put his power into Arda and his matter, including gold. He also put parts of his power and will inside Carcharot and probably dragons as well, so it&apos;s natural for dragons to be attracted by gold. Similar to how the orcs were attracted by the One ring &nbsp;to attack Isildur. The one ring was forged with gold, filled with Morgoth&apos;s power, and the orcs were his twisted creatures.

  2

• ST

  @stefanholzner6262 · 3 months ago

  for me Smaug is similar to Fafner in Wagner&apos;s &quot;Siegfried&quot;: &quot;Ich lieg&apos; und besitz, lasst mich schlafen&quot; sorry for not translating

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• OP

  @OpenShotJosh · 3 months ago

  I watched a video that was pushing the narative that the gold of arda was cursed by morgoth and his malice to affect all the children of illuvatar ...made good sense to me!

  2

• BI

  @BigMaine-i6s · 3 months ago

  I was wondering was he crazy he was locked in the mountains for 170 years how do the same thing

  1

• YI

  @yinyangthang · 3 months ago

  Um...for what possible use did dragons covet gold?