Smaug is the dragon who rules the Lonely Mountain in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Smaug seized Erebor, the dwarf kingdom beneath the Lonely Mountain, and drove out its inhabitants. He then guarded the enormous treasure hoard for generations. Thorin Oakenshield’s company travels there with Bilbo Baggins to reclaim the mountain and its wealth.
Bilbo enters the mountain and speaks with Smaug, learning about the dragon’s personality and discovering a weakness in his armor. Bilbo notices a bare patch on Smaug’s underside, and the information eventually reaches Bard the Bowman, who kills the dragon with the Black Arrow.
Smaug is Tolkien’s best-known dragon, but he is not the first or greatest dragon in the mythology. Earlier creatures include Glaurung and Ancalagon the Black, both associated with the First Age.