The Moon! What Moon?! - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

alatar · 10-08-2007, 08:24 PM

Why does Tolkien make the same, ah, mistake that other mythologies seems to do in making the Moon a 'light' when actually it's a reflector, having no light of its own?

On the other hand, Tolkien's world actually does start out flat (necessitating a trans subterranean west-to-east railroad of sorts), then becomes spherical later in time, meaning that the sun and moon begin to act more like our sun and moon.

10-08-2007, 08:24 PM	#10
alatar Doubting Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Heaven's basement Posts: 2,466	What (kind of) light through yonder window breaks? Why does Tolkien make the same, ah, mistake that other mythologies seems to do in making the Moon a 'light' when actually it's a reflector, having no light of its own? On the other hand, Tolkien's world actually does start out flat (necessitating a trans subterranean west-to-east railroad of sorts), then becomes spherical later in time, meaning that the sun and moon begin to act more like our sun and moon. __________________ There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it.