Balor, high chief of the Fomorians. Balor was the embodiment of the scorching sun, who brought drought and death to those against him. Balor’s body towered over all who laid eyes on him, with his one eye emanating an abyssal darkness. This eye was said to bring about death whenever it was opened, scorching the earth. Balor prides himself on his ruling of the Fomorians, demons who sought to subjugate the Tuatha dé and humanity. During the Fomorian’s rule over the Tuatha dé, Balor installed a puppet ruler named bres a member of the Tuatha dé whose father was a Fomorian. Under Bres the Tuatha dé and humanity were enslaved. However Balor heard of a prophecy which detailed his fall from the hands of his grandson. To remedy this Balor sent for all of his daughter’s children to be drowned, the only one to survive was Lugh, who faced off against his grandfather in the final battle against the Fomorians. Using his spear, Lugh punched out Balor’s eye, stealing his grandfather’s eye, Lugh used it to decimate the Fomorian army and obtain victory for the Tuatha dé. However Balor still survived and will occasionally return to the mortal world, but he’s always stopped by his grandson, their combat resulting in storms.
Balor’s most common epithet is “Balor of the evil eye” but he has many others, such as “Balor the smiter” and “Balor of the piercing eye”. In modern scholarship it’s believed that Balor was originally a demonic god of the sun, being the incarnation of the harmful effects of the sun’s rays, like burns and droughts. Balor’s battle with Lugh is believed to be reflected in the story of Saint Patrick and Crom Dubh, with Crom Dubh most likely being a reflection of Balor himself. Another being connected to Balor is the fire spirit slayed by Fionn mac Cumhail, who may have been seen as an aspect of Balor. In wales, Balor was reflected in the evil giant Ysbaddaden, who fought King Arthur. Balor’s fight with Lugh comes from a long line of stories that possibly orginated from the myth of Baal’s combat with Yam in Canaan, these stories pervade the religious landscape like the battle between Indra and Vritra, and the Slavic myth of Perun’s rivalry with Veles. All these stories are grouped together under the moniker of Chaoskampf, a battle against the forces of chaos and drought to bring life and fertility to the world.