What was the Lord of the Flies and why was it given this title?

The actual Lord of the Flies is a pigs head that was cut off and placed on a stick to offer as a sacrifice to the beast. It represents the mother sow who was innocent and now an image of horror, just like the kids before the island were.

The title of "Lord of the Flies" means Belzebub, the latin name for Satan. The Lord of the Flies speaks to Simon in the voice of a Headmaster. The voice is an extension of the dark side that Golding thinks exists in all of men, or boys in this case. Only Simon , Golding's Christ figure, has the faculties to face this metaphor in its very literal manifestation.