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Who was more powerful in battle, Dragons or Balrogs?

Eriol_Eandur

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When reading the Silmarillion it seems very clear to me that Dragons are much more powerful in battle than Balrogs. First there were many more Balrogs in the Battles of Beleriand than dragons. Before the War of Wrath there was only Glaurung and he alone seems to be more powerful than all the dozens or hundreds of Balrogs together.
Even when he was very young he devastated Ard Galen all alone and it needed many riders to stop him: Balrogs in opposite were more less of equal powerful as a Noldo:
During the Dagor Bragollach you can easily comprare the effectiveness of the Balrogs with full grown Glaurung:
Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin said:
by the valour of the Elves and the Men of the North, which neither Orc nor Balrog could yet overcome, Hithlum remained unconquered,
Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin said:
But they overwhelmed the riders of the people of Fëanor upon Lothlann, for Glaurung came thither, and passed through Maglor's Gap, and destroyed all the land between the arms of Gelion.
And of course there is the War of Wrath were the Valar easily destroyed Morgoth's hosts: But then Morgoth released the dragons: After the first surprise the Valar together with the eagles and Earendil destroyed the dragons too, but the difference with the balrogs is striking.
Now I already hear some of you saying: "But the Dragons of the War of Wrath wre much larger than Smaug!" I don't think so. I believe Smaug was present at the War of Wrath! Why? Some Dragons escaped the destruction:
Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath said:
and well-nigh all the dragons were destroyed
. As I understand it, these were the later Dragons of the North with Smaug the greatest among them. I don't know any direct statement by Tolkien about this. But I also don't see any hint that dragons reproduce. So it seems the most obvious origin of those dragons.
 
I found a quote that dragons bred indeed:
LotR - Appendix A - Durin's Folk said:
But there were dragons in the wastes beyond; and after many years they became strong again and multiplied, ...
So it's unsure if Smaug was born after the end of First Age. But as he was "greatest of the dragons of his day" I would anyway think him comparable to the dragons of the War of Wrath.

Another question is if the Balrog in Moria was more powererful than the Balrogs of Beleriand. The answer is that it was acutally one of them:
LotR - Appendix A - Durin's Folk said:
Thus they roused from sleep a thing of terror that, flying from Thangorodrim, had lain hidden at the foundations of the earth since the coming of the Host of the West: a Balrog of Morgoth.
The Balrog of Moria was slain by Gandalf but Gandalf died too. So was it of equal power as a Maiar? Yes, Balrogs are actually Maiar: So the Balrogs were not even the least powerful among the Maiar who served Morgoth. The power of Maiar varies extremly.
Gandalf on the other hand was not as powerful as he was in Valinor during that battle. The Istari were not allowed to use their powers: Even in Valinor Gandalf (Olorin) wasn't a very powerful Maia:
Unfinished Tales - Part IV -The Istari said:
But Olórin declared that he was too weak for such a task, and that he feared Sauron. Then Manwë said that that was all the more reason why he should go, and that he commanded Olórin
So I'd say Gandalf when he battled the Balrod was no more powerful than a Noldo during First Age and the Balrog of Moria no more powerful than the Balrogs of Beleriand.
 
It's fascinating that dragons would be more powerful than balrogs, when Morgoth created them and they are entirely of Arda while balrogs were (more or less) created by Eru. Even if they became drastically weaker through their corruption to Morgoth's side, it is still surprising that he could surpass them. Certainly make Morgoth seem a little scarier and more insanely powerful.
 
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