The Tombs of Atuan is the second novel in American author Ursula K. Le Guin’s fantasy series The Earthsea Cycle, originally published in 1970. Each novel in the series has a primarily stand-alone plot, with connections and recurring characters between novels. The Tombs of Atuan’s protagonist, Tenar, is a young girl living in the Kargish Empire. Tenar is taken from her family as a child to become the high priestess of the Nameless Ones, the Kargish gods. She lives in near-isolation among the Tombs until she meets Sparrowhawk, a young man who has snuck in to steal a talisman. Though Tenar initially intends to capture Sparrowhawk for her masters, her association with him slowly brings her to question her role and everything she believes in. The Tombs of Atuan is a coming-of-age novel that explores complex issues such as The Nature of Faith, The Roles of Women in Patriarchal Society, and The True Meanings of Power and Freedom.

This guide references the 1989 paperback reprinting published by Bantam Books.

Content Warnings: The source material and guide features depictions of death, racism/xenophobia, gender-based discrimination, and religious discrimination/trauma.

Plot Summary

As a child, Tenar is taken from her parents to become the One Priestess in the Place of the Tombs, deep in the Kargad desert. She undergoes a ritual in which she is “eaten” by the gods, called the Nameless Ones, losing her name and becoming Arha, The Eaten One. She is cared for by her eunuch warden, Manan, and the High Priestesses Kossil and Thar, who perform her duties until she comes of age. Arha spends her time exploring the grounds of the Place, including the Tombstones of the Nameless Ones, nine black standing stones. Her only friend is a novice named Penthe.

When Arha is fifteen, Kossil shows her into the Undertomb, a series of tunnels beneath the Place where only the three high priestesses and their eunuch servants are permitted. Darkness is sacred here, and light is forbidden. Showing Arha three prisoners sent to be sacrificed to the Nameless Ones, Kossil tells Arha she must choose the manner of their deaths. After Arha sentences them to death by thirst and starvation, then burial in the great cavern beneath the Tombs, she faints.

Arha is sick for days, filled with nightmares about the men she sentenced to death, but eventually she recovers. Over the following months, she explores the Undertomb, entering the Labyrinth, the most dangerous section. The Labyrinth is a large, twisting series of tunnels filled with dead ends and traps and stretching for miles beneath and beyond the Place. Thar shows her spy holes scattered throughout the grounds that look down into the Labyrinth’s passages and rooms.

The Labyrinth was built to protect the Treasury, a sacred room that only the One Priestess may enter. It contains half of the broken Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Erreth-Akbe was a wizard from the Inner Lands, where the people have dark skin. Centuries ago, he fought a priest in Kargad, losing his amulet before escaping to his homeland. Since then, many have attempted to steal the broken piece, but all have failed and died. The other half is believed to be lost.

That summer, Thar dies, leaving Arha to Kossil’s care. Arha comes to understand that Kossil has no faith and only worships power. Kossil is jealous of Arha’s status over her, and Arha fears that Kossil would end the worship of the Nameless Ones if she could.

One winter day, Arha sees a light in the great cavern and finds a man, who she traps inside the Labyrinth. She tells Kossil, who recommends letting the man starve to death inside, but Arha cannot bear the idea of letting another man die. She decides to keep him alive and watches him through the spy holes. When he collapses from fatigue, she orders Manan to retrieve him and lock him in a room within the Labyrinth, taking his staff and the talisman he wears around his neck.

She visits the man, who calls himself Sparrowhawk and admits he is a wizard from the Inner Lands who has come to retrieve the lost Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Sparrowhawk tells Arha about his homeland and previous encounters with those she calls the Nameless Ones. As she learns more, Arha begins to question her role in society and everything she has learned about the gods.

When Kossil discovers that the man is still alive, Arha and Manan take him deeper into the Labyrinth, locking him inside the Treasury where Kossil will not find him. Arha tells Kossil that she ordered Manan to bury the man alive in the great cavern. Manan begs Arha to allow him to do it, afraid to defy the gods, but she refuses. Meanwhile, Sparrowhawk reveals that he knows Arha’s true name is Tenar.

That night, Arha dreams of her mother. In the morning, she declares that her name has returned to her. She goes to speak with Sparrowhawk again but finds Kossil in the great cavern with a lantern, digging in the false grave Manan dug. Kossil has realized that Arha is lying. Worse, Kossil defiled the sacred place with light, and the Nameless Ones did not strike her dead. Arha rushes to the Treasury and cries, telling Sparrowhawk that her gods are dead. He assures her that the Nameless Ones are not dead; however, they are not gods to be worshipped, and Tenar is not their slave.

Sparrowhawk tells her that he has found the broken half of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Arha has the other half, he says: the unassuming talisman she took from him days ago. With the pieces together again, they will be able to return peace to the Inner Lands. He asks her to escape with him and reveals his true name, Ged, as a show of trust. She agrees, and Ged uses magic to fuse the broken halves together, revealing that the Ring of Erreth-Akbe is an armband. He slips it on her arm, saying it is hers now. Then they run.

Manan tries to stop them, but falls to his death in a pit trap. Arha freezes in horror, but Ged urges her on, informing her that the Nameless Ones are trying to collapse the tunnels with an earthquake and he is using all his power to hold it back. Finally, they escape into the desert outside. They watch as an earthquake shakes the ground and the tunnels collapse, taking the nine standing stones with them. Ged and Arha, now Tenar once again, run toward the mountains.

They travel through the desert and into the mountains, heading for the seaside cave where Ged left his boat. Ged encourages a frightened Tenar with promises of the cheerful welcome she will receive from the princes of his land. When they reach Ged’s boat and sail into the ocean, Tenar is overcome with grief and fear. She begs Ged to leave her on a deserted island to live with her guilt, but he refuses. He promises to take her to the home of his quiet and kind old master, where she can heal. Tenar agrees. A crowd awaits them when they reach Havnor, the largest city of the Inner Lands. Tenar lifts her arm to show them the ring, and everyone cheers, welcoming her home.