Elves have the ability to live forever thanks to their immortality. Elves like
He is thought to be over 10,000 years old by the time the War of the Ring takes place, and in all those many long years, he is credited with saving the entire elven race, selflessly putting his own wants and desires aside for the good of all, and of being a vessel through which the divine could communicate with the ...
Elves, at least the Eldar, have a pregnancy that lasts about a year. By the age of 1, Elves can speak, walk and dance. Puberty and full height are attained at around their fiftieth to one hundredth year, when they stop aging physically.
Elves, High Elves in particular, are said to be able to live for around 1000 years. Humans live to be around 100 at most. So we can assume that Humans age roughly ten times quicker than Elves do. So obviously, elves age much more slowly than humans do.
Elves are naturally immortal; like the Ainur, they are bound to Arda until its End. Elves are immune to all diseases, and they can recover from wounds which would normally kill a mortal Man. Nonetheless, Elves can be physically slain or die of grief and weariness.
The Elves were the fairest creatures in Arda, a far more beautiful race than Men, and generally tall (seldom less than six feet for elf women, no less than six and a half feet for elfmen).
Once an elf engages in reciprocated love with someone, that's it. If he cannot be with that person he will lose the will to live, die, and become a forever-shade in the Halls of Mandos.
This makes it likely that the Altmer are the longest lived of the Elves on average. The Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition, describes many Altmer who remember Tiber Septim's conquests, which would put them at over 400 years old when the book was published.
In Middle-earth, half-elves are the children of Elves and Men, and can choose either Elvish immortality or the mortal life of Men. The elf-maidens Lúthien and Arwen in Tolkien's works both chose mortality to be with the Men that they loved.
The rate for elves is much slower even than dwarves. Tolkien says that a 20 year old elf appears to be 7 years old. They come of age culturally at 50, but are said to reach physical and mental maturity at 100. So I'd imagine that they stop aging somewhere between 50 and 100.
Given that elves can live for centuries, their idea of "adult" is much older than that of humans. But comparing psychological maturity is a whole different ballpark: though a 15-year-old elf would be seen as a little more than an infant to "adult" Elves, so would a 15-year-old human.
How long do elves live? Elves typically reach maturity around the same age as humans, however their lifespan is infinite. How old are Santa's elves? Santa's elves are a variety of ages from 25 – 2025.
Elves do not get wrinkles on their skin nor do their bodies become fragile or weak. Eventually they will suffer a normal disease and die. This is not considered as death of old age since elves do not fade away into death, they just die.
Elwyn, Santa's oldest elf, and Blitzen, a retired reindeer, help Santa out for one last Christmas. Physical Description: p. cm.
According to a legend of the Elves, the first Elves were awakened by Eru Ilúvatar near the bay of Cuiviénen. The first Elf to awake was called Imin ("First"). Next to him lay Iminyë, who would become his wife. Near where Imin woke, awoke Tata ("Second") and Tatië, and Enel ("Third") and Enelyë.
An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old. Elves take their time doing things because of their long life span. So to them 100 years feels like what 20 years feels like to a Human.
Half-elves (also called Cha'Tel'Quessir in Elven) were humanoids born through the union of an elf and a human.
Clearly, elves and humans may successfully interbreed, producing fertile half-elves in at least three documented unions (Idril and Tuor; Luthien and Beren; Arwen1 and Aragorn) (Tolkien 1955, Appendix A). Elrond the half-elven was the grandson of both Idril and Tuor as well as Luthien and Beren.
In making that choice, Arwen gave up the Elvish immortality available to her as a daughter of Elrond, and agreed to remain in Middle-earth instead of travelling to the Undying Lands.
The reason the Elves fade is that humans are meant (by Eru Ilúvatar, i.e. God) to become the predominant race in Middle-earth – a concept known as "the Dominion of Men." The Dominion of Men is considered to begin at the crowning of Aragorn as announced by Gandalf.
Elves have three cycles in their lives. The first cycle for Elves is childhood and adolescence, lasting around 100 years, though most elves are fully grown after their first 50 years. The second cycle of an Elves' life is adulthood which can span thousands of years, all while not physically aging.
Elves' Second Cycle of Life Is an Endless Adulthood
Elves' adulthood was almost an unending state. Unlike the race of Men, they didn't physically age. They just remained constant -- an unchanging incarnation of their eternal form. Thus, once they were 100 years old, they looked the same for the rest of their lives.
Generally speaking, elves do not have the choice to become mortal. That choice is limited to the peredhil, or half-elven, of whom there have been (at most) 12 in all of Middle Earth's history (see this post.)
The time of Elves was over, and the reign of Man had begun. The Elves knew that their time was running short, which was why so many chose to travel to the Undying Lands at the end of the story.
Elves marry only once (with only one known, very special, exception), but there's no rule about them loving only once. For example, Finwe loved Miriel, and then he loved Indis. Likewise, Finduilas loved Gwindor, and then she loved Turin.