In Irish mythology, Balor, also called Balar, was a leader of the Fomorians, a group of evil supernatural beings. He was considered one of the most powerful figures. Balor is often described as a giant with a very large eye that causes destruction when it opens. He played a role in the Battle of Mag Tuired. He is best known for being killed by his grandson, Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who was the son of Cian. Balor has been seen as a symbol of the scorching sun. He has also been compared to characters from other mythologies, such as the Welsh Ysbaddaden and the Greek Cyclops.

Name

The name Balor may come from an ancient Celtic language, *Boleros, meaning "the flashing one."

In early writings, he is also called Balor Béimnech (Balor the striker), Balor Balcbéimnech (Balor the strong striker), Balor Birugderc (Balor of the piercing eye), Balor mac Doit meic Néid (Balor, son of Dot, son of Nét), or Balor ua Néit (Balor, grandson of Nét).

Later versions include Balor Béimeann or Balar Bemen (Ogygia, 1685), and Balór na Súile Nimhe (Balor of the Evil Eye).

Mythological Cycle

Balor first appears in the medieval texts that make up the Mythological Cycle.

According to the Cath Maige Tuired (CMT), Balor was the son of Dot, who was the son of Néit. However, in the list of renowned rath- and castle-builders from the Book of Leinster, Balor is called the son of Buarainech. In O'Flaherty's Ogygia (1685), Cethlenn is described as Balor's wife. Cethlenn is also mentioned in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (LGE), but not as Balor's wife.

The Mythological Cycle describes a battle between the divine Tuatha Dé Danann and the demonic Fomorians. At the request of Bres, the Fomorians went to war against the Tuatha Dé. Balor was the champion of the Fomorians and the king of the Isles (the Hebrides), while Indech mac De was the Fomorian king. Both led the Fomorian army. Balor built the fort of Rath Breisi in Connacht for Bres, as recorded in the rath-builder list.

During the second Battle of Mag Tuired, Balor killed the Tuatha Dé king, Nuada Airgetlám. However, Balor was later killed by his grandson, Lugh, before he could use his destructive eye. Balor's eye caused great harm when opened, releasing a powerful force. It took four warriors to lift the eyelid by pulling the ring attached to it. Lugh used a sling-stone (Old Irish: cloch as a tábaill, "stone from the sling") to strike the eye. The stone passed through the eye and harmed the Fomorian army. Balor's body crushed 27 Fomorian soldiers as it fell, and his head struck their king, Indech.

Though not stated directly, it is believed that Balor was a "one-eyed giant." In one account, Lugh also killed a Fomorian leader named Goll, who may be a duplicate of Balor. The CMT explains that Balor's eye gained its harmful power from the fumes of a magic potion brewed by his father's druids. O'Curry mentioned he had a manuscript with an alternate explanation for Balor's power but did not include it due to space.

Another description from the 12th century says Balor survived losing his eye and was chased by Lugh to Mizen Head. Lugh beheaded Balor and placed his head on a large rock, which then broke. This event is believed to be the origin of the headland's Irish name, Carn Uí Néit ("cairn of Nét's grandson").

Folktale

In 19th-century folklore, Balor is described as a warrior or tyrant who lives on Tory Island. He learns a prophecy that his grandson will kill him. To avoid this fate, Balor locks his only daughter, Ethnea, in a tower to prevent her from having children. Balor travels to the mainland and steals a magical cow named Glas Gaibhnenn from MacKineely (Cian mac Cáinte). MacKineely learns he can only reclaim the cow if Balor is dead. With the help of his spirit, Biróg, MacKineely enters the tower, finds Ethnea, and impregnates her. When Ethnea gives birth to three sons, Balor orders them to be drowned, but one survives. The boy is raised by his uncle, the smith. Later, Balor encounters his grandson and is killed by him.

The unnamed grandson is identified as Lugh. In some stories, he is called Lughaidh Lámhfhada (Lughaidh Longhand) or Lugh Fadlámhach ("Lugh the long-armed"). In another version, he is named Dul Dauna, a name thought to be a mistake for Ildanach, Lugh's nickname meaning "master of all knowledge."

The weapon used by Lugh to kill Balor may be a hot iron rod or a red spear made by the smith Gaivnin Gow. Some scholars, like A. C. L. Brown, have explored possible links to Arthurian legends.

Balor is often described with one, two, or three eyes. One eye is poisonous or harmful. He may have two eyes in front, one in the front and one in the back, or an extra eye on his forehead. Lugh always destroys the evil eye.

In one version by O'Donovan, Balor has one eye on his forehead and a deadly eye on the back of his head. This eye is venomous and emits a petrifying beam, similar to a basilisk. Another version says Balor has one eye on his forehead, covered by seven layers. Removing these layers causes destruction, including fire spreading across the land.

According to a poem, Balor's severed head was placed in an oak tree. The tree absorbed his venom and became the shield of Fionn mac Cumhaill. In "Balor on Tory Island," Lugh places Balor's head on a rock, and a lake forms from the blood dripping from it. The lake is called Gweedore Loch in County Donegal.

In County Sligo, Balor is said to have used a glass to destroy plants at Moytura. A hero tricked him into removing the glass, allowing the hero to blind him. The blood from Balor's eye created a lake called Suil Balra or Lochan na Súil near Ballindoon Abbey.

Tory Island is where Balor's stronghold is located, as medieval texts describe the Fomorians' base there. The island has features named Dún Bhalair ("Balor's fortress") and Túr Bhalair ("Balor's tower"), as well as a tall rock called Tór Mór ("great tower").

O'Donovan's version of the story made people believe Balor's tales were mainly from Tory Island. However, Henry Morris argued that Balor stories were widespread in Ireland, especially in South Ulster. He found versions connecting Balor to places from Monaghan to Rockabill Island near Dublin.

Interpretations

Some people believe Balor represents an old sun god who struggled with Lugh, a sun god of the new year. A scholar named Alexander Haggerty Krappe supported this idea. He suggested that myths like this might describe natural cycles of growth, death, and rebirth. Krappe believed the myth is very old, with Balor symbolizing winter and the old year, while a woman in the story represents fertile land.

Dáithí Ó hÓgáin viewed Balor as a representation of the sun's harmful effects, such as drought and crop failure. He thought the image of Balor mixes a sun god from the Bronze Age with a Greek Cyclops. Both Ó hÓgáin and Máire MacNeill believed Lugh killing Balor was originally a harvest story connected to the festival of Lughnasa and a later tale about Saint Patrick defeating Crom Dubh. Ó hÓgáin also thought the hero Fionn’s battles with figures named Goll, Áed, and Aillen were inspired by Lugh’s conflict with Balor.

Balor has been compared to Ysbaddaden from Welsh mythology. Both are giants whose eyelids require many people to lift. Both are struck by a spear and lose an eye, and neither is willing to give their daughter to someone seeking her hand in marriage.

Since the mid-19th century, Balor has been compared to figures in Greek myths, especially the Cyclops. James O'Laverty noted a similarity between Balor and Acrisius, a king from Argos who was destined to be killed by his grandson, the hero Perseus. Others have explored this connection further.

O'Laverty also suggested the name "Balor" might be related to the Greek hero Bellerophon. Arbois de Jubainville argued that "Bellerophon" means "slayer of Belleros," a name for the Chimera. He claimed both the Chimera and Balor are creatures that produce fire or thunderbolts.

De Jubainville and others also compared Balor to Argos, a many-eyed guardian of the white cow Io. Since Lugh kills Balor and Hermes kills Argos, this fits into a pattern that links the Celtic god Lugh to the Greek god Hermes.

Krappe identified six common elements in myths: a prophecy that someone will be killed by their descendant, locking a daughter in a tower, a stranger seducing the daughter using magic, the birth of a boy and an attempt to drown him, the boy being raised by others, and the boy fulfilling the prophecy by killing his grandparent.

Krappe compared Balor to a figure called "vy" mentioned by W. R. S. Ralston in Serbian stories. However, Krappe misunderstood Ralston, confusing "vy" with a character called "the Aged One" from a Russian tale called Ivan Bykovich. In reality, the heavy eyelid motif appears in Ivan Bykovich, but Ralston did not link it to "vy."

Similarities have also been found in the names and structures of myths about Lugh killing Balor and Loki killing Baldr. Additional connections have been noted between the names Belenus and Belin, which are linked to a Slovenian deity.

Cultural references

Cyathophycus balori, a type of sponge, was named after Balor. A 315-million-year-old fossil piece of the sponge was discovered by the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.