Someone help me get un-confused....

[Lily Tussle]

Ok, I am confused about the Maia.
Who are they? What do they do? What's the point of them being in Middle-Earth?
I just hope some of you can clear up my confusion....

[Elven-Maiden]

I'm not exactly sure.... I saw the Maiar as the handmaids and manservants, basically of the Valar. They came into being after the Valar, but I'm not sure why. Maybe just to keep them company. smilies/frown.gif

I'm sorry I couldn't help more.

[Kuruharan]

The Valar and Maiar are both Ainur (angels more or less). They both sprung from the thought of Iluvatar at the beginning.
Basically as Elven-Maiden said, the Maiar are lesser Ainur and they are the servants of the Valar.
Melian (wife of Thingol) and Olorin (Gandalf) were both Maia.
Saruman and Radagast were also Maia, but I can't remember what their real names were off the top of my head.
Those are the only ones I can remember right at the moment.
Hope this helps. smilies/smile.gif

[Bruce MacCulloch]

Saruman's and Radagast's names were Curumo and Aiwendil, respectively.

[Niphredil Baggins]

Actually, Saruman was Curunir.

[Bruce MacCulloch]

Curunír is the Sindarin form of the Quenya name Curumo. Curumo is given as being Saruman's name in Valinor, as Aiwendil was Radagast's there.

[Kuruharan]

...oh, and I was forgetting Sauron.