These events occurred some 150 years before the events of The Hobbit, and Smaug was already centuries old at the time.

Smaug was intimately familiar with every last item within his hoard, and instantly noticed the theft of a relatively inconsequential cup by Bilbo Baggins.

Death of Smaug was used for the cover of an early UK paperback edition of The Hobbit.

In the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit, Smaug was voiced by Richard Boone.

In the 2003 video game release, Smaug was voiced by James Horan.

Smaug will appear in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, and on 16 June 2011, it was announced that he will be voiced and interpreted with performance capture by Benedict Cumberbatch.

In 2770 T. A., while a young Thorin II Oakenshield was out hunting, the dragon Smaug flew south from the Grey Mountains, killed all the dwarves he could find, and destroyed the town of Dale.

In 2941 Thorin II Oakenshield, son of Thráin II and grandson of Thrór, recolonized the Lonely Mountain after Smaug the dragon was slain by Bard, the future King of Dale.

Smaug was the last great dragon of Middle-earth.

Smaug had only a single weakness: there was a hole in his jewel encrusted underbelly on his left breast area.

* In a comparison with the later literature, The Lord of the Rings ( 1954-1955 ) by J. R. R. Tolkien, the character Gollum, as well as Smaug, could be seen to have been inspired by Fáfnir, who was also corrupted by greed and transformed into a vile creature.

Gandalf who alone of those present knew who " The Necromancer " really was urged caution, and reminded Thorin of the far older debt of vengeance he owed the Dragon Smaug.

Thorin also was concerned about Smaug, but had the different motive of revenge and the reclaiming of the Dwarves ' treasure in the Lonely Mountain.

Another reason was that Smaug would not recognize the scent of a Hobbit, advantageous to a stealthy operation and likely to distract the dragon's attention.

Balin was part of the company assembled by Thorin Oakenshield to kill the dragon Smaug and retake the mountain kingdom of Erebor.

He was the only dwarf who volunteered to accompany Bilbo down the secret passage to Smaug.

Boone was also the voice actor for the mighty dragon Smaug in the 1977 animated film of J. R. R.

Both of these realms would eventually be consumed by dragons — the Grey Mountains in 2590 by a horde and The Lonely Mountain in 2770 by the dragon Smaug.

Specific plot elements and features in The Hobbit that show similarities to Beowulf include the title thief as Bilbo is called by Gollum and later also by Smaug, the underground path into the mountain, and Smaug's personality which leads to the destruction of Lake-town.

Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and the main antagonist within the story.

One of the last great dragons of Middle-earth, Smaug rose to prominence by laying waste to the town of Dale and capturing the Lonely Mountain ( Erebor ) with all of its treasure.

* Image of Smaug by J. R. R.

Smaug, enraged by the theft, emerged from the mountain and destroyed Lake-town, which he thought to be the source of the ' thieves.

The Lonely Mountain: Lair of Smaug the Dragon is a board game produced in 1985 by Iron Crown Enterprises, designed by Coleman Charlton which features groups of adventurers, either Dwarves, Elves, Orcs or Men entering Smaug's Lair to capture his treasure before he awakens.

The Hobbit relates how Bilbo Baggins, in comfortable middle age at 50 years old, is hired in spite of himself as a " burglar " by the wizard Gandalf and 13 dwarves led by their king Thorin Oakenshield on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug.

Despite their evil beginnings, they are not purely destructive by nature, as can be seen by Smaug, who wants to be left in peace, though he did force out the dwarves in the Lonely Mountain.

Of all items made of Mithril in the works of Tolkien, a notable example is the " small shirt of mail " retrieved from the hoard of the dragon Smaug, and given to Bilbo Baggins by Thorin Oakenshield.

Together they planned the Quest of Erebor, which resulted in the death of Smaug and the finding of the One Ring by Bilbo Baggins.

The plots share the same basic structure progressing in the same sequence: the stories begin at Bag End, the home of Bilbo Baggins ; Gandalf sends the protagonist into a quest eastward ; Elrond offers a haven and advice ; the adventurers escape dangerous creatures underground ( Goblin Town / Moria ); they engage another group of elves ( The Elf King's realm / Lothlórien ); they traverse a desolate region ( Desolation of Smaug / the Dead Marshes ); they fight in a massive battle ; a descendant of kings is restored to his ancestral throne ( Bard / Aragorn ); and the questing party returns home to find it in a deteriorated condition ( having possessions auctioned off / the scouring of the Shire ).

When Smaug attacked the town, Bard shot his Black Arrow into Smaug's left breast, the armour's weak spot, killing him.

This created a conflict with Bard and the Elven king Thranduil of Mirkwood, who each wanted a portion of the gold as reimbursement for all the damage Smaug had caused their kingdoms over the years.

* Bard the Bowman, slayer of Smaug

* October, 2941-Esgaroth is attacked by the dragon Smaug, who is consequentially killed by Bard the Bowman ; Thorin Oakenshield, Fíli, and Kíli killed at the Battle of Five Armies along with Bolg son of Azog ; Dáin II Ironfoot becomes King of The Lonely Mountain ; Town of Dale reestablished by Bard

Thorin also did not think highly of Hobbits, and putting Bilbo in the expedition might prevent the proud Thorin from rash actions — such as openly challenging Smaug.

Smaug then took over the mountain, using the dwarven hoard as a bed.

He stands midway between Smaug, evil and greedy, and The Reluctant Dragon, comical and timid.

These talking creatures include ravens, spiders and the dragon Smaug, alongside the anthropomorphic goblins and elves.

Smaug is the main antagonist.

In many ways the Smaug episode reflects and references the dragon of Beowulf, and Tolkien uses the episode to put into practice some of the ground-breaking literary theories he had developed about the Anglo-Saxon poem and its early medieval portrayal of the dragon as having bestial intelligence.

Smaug the dragon with his golden hoard may be seen as an example of the traditional relationship between evil and metallurgy as collated in the depiction of Pandæmonium with its " Belched fire and rolling smoke " in Milton's Paradise Lost.

Similarities to the works of other writers who faced the Great War are seen in The Hobbit, including portraying warfare as anti-pastoral: in " The Desolation of Smaug ", both the area under the influence of Smaug before his demise and the setting for The Battle of the Five Armies later are described as barren, damaged landscapes.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are scheduled for release late in 2012, late 2013, and summer of 2014, respectively.

If Rivendell were to be attacked, the dragon Smaug could cause great devastation.

In, Gandalf arranged ( and frequently accompanied ) a band of thirteen dwarves and the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins to reclaim from the dragon Smaug the Dwarves ' lost treasure in Erebor.

In the book, he is sometimes called Smaug the Golden or Smaug the Magnificent.

Tolkien created numerous pencil sketches and two pieces of more detailed artwork portraying Smaug.

The latter were a detailed ink and watercolour labelled Conversation with Smaug and a rough coloured pencil and ink sketch entitled Death of Smaug.