Balor

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For the type of demon in Dungeons & Dragons, see Balor (Dungeons & Dragons).

In Irish mythology, Balor (Balar, Bolar) of the Evil Eye was a king of the Fomorians, a race of giants. His father was Buarainech and his wife was Cethlenn. According to legend, he lived on Tory Island.

Balor was notable for his one eye, which could kill anyone it looked upon. He gained this power as a child when watching his father's druids preparing poisonous spells, the fumes of which rose into his eye. His eye was normally kept closed, only to be opened on the battlefield by four men using a handle fitted to his eyelid, or, in some versions, a system of ropes and pulleys.

According to prophecy, Balor was to be killed by his grandson. To avoid his fate, he locked his daughter, Ethlinn, in a tower made of crystal to keep her from becoming pregnant. However, Cian, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the help of the druidess Birog, managed to enter the tower. She gave birth to triplets by him, but Balor threw them into the ocean. Birog saved one, Lugh, and gave him to Manannan mac Lir, who became his foster father. He was called Lugh Lamhfada and became a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Lugh led the Tuatha in the second Battle of Magh Tuiredh against the Fomorians. Ogma disarmed Balor during this battle, but Balor killed Nuada with his eye. Lugh shot a sling-stone which drove Balor's eye out the back of his head, where it continued to wreak its deadly power on the Fomorian army. In other versions Lugh blinded Balor with a spear made by Goibniu, or decapitated him and used his eye against the Fomorians.

One legend tells that, when Balor was slain by Lugh, Balor's eye was still open when he fell face first into the ground. Thus his deadly eye beam burned a hole into the earth. Long after, the hole filled with water and became a lake which is now known as Loch na Suil, or "Lake of the Eye", which is to be found in County Sligo.

Contents 1 Balor in other media 1.1 Books & Comics 1.2 Games 1.3 Other

[edit] Balor in other media

[edit] Books & Comics

• In Pat Mills' Slaine comic-book series in 2000 AD, Balor is depicted as a giant general of the Formorian sea-demons, with a red energy beam emanating from his eye.

• Balor is the nickname of a cross-eyed bursar in Breandán O hEithir's novel Lig Sinn i gCathú.

• Balor is an incarnation of the Lone Power, the creator of all evil, in A Wizard Abroad, the fourth book in the Young Wizard series.

• In the book The Chronicles of Corum a member of the Fhoi Myore is known as Balahr, who has one large eye, similar to Balor's, that is opened by wires and then freezes its foes.

• In the manga called Arms, Balor appears as the final form of Keith Violet, a woman that work for the Egregori organization. In the story, which is full of references to Alice in Wonderland, Violet is the incarnation of March Hare.

[edit] Games

• In the fantasy role playing game Dungeons & Dragons, Balor is the name of one of the most powerful types of demon, considered the equivalent of J. R. R. Tolkien's 'balrog'.

• Balor is the name Connacht the Wolf adopts when he becomes the new Leveler in the Myth computer game series. During the seventeenth year of the Grear War, he interrogated the hero Alric, who was previously captured by one of Balor's six Fallen Lords (The Deceiver). During the interrogation Alric learned by chance that the Fallen Lords were bound to Balor. Near the end of the war, Alric and the Legion went to Rhi'anon, Balor's fortress, and to enrage Balor planted the Myrkridian standard they had found inside the Tain. During the Last Battle, Alric immobilized Balor with the aid of the Eblis Stone, thus allowing the barbarians of the Legion to behead the warlord. In the end, Balor's head was thrown into the Great Devoid, ending his life and his sway over the surviving Fallen.

• Balor is also the name of Zasalamel's second unlockable weapon in Soul Calibur III.

• Balor appears also in the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot as the final boss in the dungeon of Tur Suil.

• Balor also appears as a boss in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. His attacks consist of smashing fists and punches, as well as a beam that is shot from his one visible eye, which can be avoided by crouching. His name is spelled "Balore", but he is recognizable by the energy beam fired from one of his eyes. In Aria of Sorrow, he makes a big entrance, crushing the classic Giant Bat boss that appears in most Castlevania games. This is meant to show how strong the boss is. In Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin he looks noticeably different than he did in Aria of Sorrow and is much easier to defeat in those games.

• Balor also appears as boss in "Celtic Tales:Balor of the Evil Eye", strategy-rpg by KOEI.

[edit] Other

• Balor is also the name of a Theatre and Theatre Company [1] 'www.balortheatre.com' in the Twin-Towns of Ballybofey & Stranorlar, in County Donegal. 'Balor' includes elements of Ballbofey and Stranorlar.

• Balor is also an evil, physically powerful immortal from the planet Progron in the science-fiction series Space:1999, who wears a black suit with large, flared sleeves and trousers. Deranged, deceitful, and quite mad, he is the threat encountered by Moon-base Alpha in the episode: "End of Eternity".