Re: \"War of the Ring\" thread
 

It's not that Sauron _is_ an eye, it's just very powerful magically and the spell effect was mostly what was shown in the film, and is his symbol. See for example:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads5/sauron.gif

Also if you want to see it in the recent film series, watch the very first battle scene in the first film. The giant guy wiping out dozens of good guys with every sweep of his sword would be Sauron... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

PvK

Re: \"War of the Ring\" thread
 

But it in the Third Age, I think Sauron is more or less physically "diffused", sort of like an ethereal, malignant presence than a physical combat monster.

Re: \"War of the Ring\" thread
 

Gollum mentions Sauron torturing him with nine fingers. Think there might be mention of Sauron having corporeal form around that time elsewhere. Shall sniff about.

Re: \"War of the Ring\" thread
 

Ding! Gandalf sez: "Some here will remember that many years ago I myself dared to pass the doors of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur, and secretly explored his ways, and found thus that our fears were true: he was none other than Sauron, our Enemy of old, at length taking shape and power again."

Further, Tolkien sez: "It was thus that Sauron appeared in this shape. It is mythologically supposed that when this shape was 'real', that is a physical actuality in the physical world and not a vision transferred from mind to mind, it took some time to build up. It was then destructible like other physical organisms. But that of course did not destroy the spirit, nor dismiss it from the world to which it was bound until the end. After the battle with Gilgalad and Elendil, Sauron took a long while to re-build, longer than he had done after the Downfall of Númenor (I suppose because each building-up used up some of the inherent energy of the spirit, that might be called the 'will' or the effective link between the indestructible mind and being and the realization of its imagination). The impossibility of re-building after the destruction of the Ring, is sufficiently clear 'mythologically' in the present book."

Thanks to some pedantic purist at minastirith.com for digging this latter quote up in my stead.