Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
The clear implicaton is that Ungoliant was of the Maia, and if she could mate while in the incarnate form of a spider, why not other Maia in the forms of eagles?
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It would certainly seem to follow that if Melian could have a child with an Elf by embodying herself as an Elf, then Maiar embodied as Eagles or Spiders or whatever could do the same, with creatures of the same kind as their embodiment. I would think that Tolkien wanted to avoid the possibility of interbreeding causing such oddities as a minotaur, gryphon, etc., creatures that crossed species. And by stating that the act of procreation in particular would bind their spirit -- their very being -- to physicality and thus diminish their power should they lose that body, it makes the prospect less appealing and thus less likely to happen over and over. Makes the rare times it does happen considerably more unique and special.
Still, Tolkien had a lot of ideas about the nature of the Ainur that changed over the years. As I recall, the Maiar were originally the Valarindi, the children of the Valar, and he dropped that notion over time.