Debunking the "Goddess of Time"

[Sahaqiel 1232]

There's been a lot of controversy over the so-called fourth piece, a theoried extra Triforce piece. There have been various arguments, ranging from Link's purple tunic color in Four Swords, an extra guardian spirit in Twilight Princess, and the "Goddess of Time". Before I move on, I'll explain.

In Termina, there is repeated mention of the "Goddess of Time", who apparently rules over a fair portion of their daily lives. Even Zelda knows about the Goddess of Time. However, she is never named or titled as another thing. Some suggest the Goddess of Time is the fourth Goddess in addition to Din, Nayru, and Farore, which governs over an extra Triforce piece that completes the set as a whole triangle. However, I will be trying to prove this Goddess is not new, and is in fact, Nayru.

Alright. So throughout Majora's Mask, dwindling time seems to be the main factor and is the only thing propelling you and Clock Town, a hustling busy town that has its own agenda. It makes sense the Goddess of Time would be so important to them. Let's go back to where we first heard of this entity, quoted from Zelda at this text dump.

The Goddess of Time is

protecting you.

If you play the Song of Time,

she will aid you...

Why is this one of the most significant things ever? Let's consult the Deku Tree, quoted from this text dump.

Before time began, before spirits

and life existed...

Three golden goddesses descended

upon the chaos that was Hyrule...

Din, the goddess of power...

Nayru, the goddess of wisdom...

Farore, the goddess of courage...

Now, let's consult Zelda again from the same text dump.

And the other, who holds the

Triforce of Wisdom...

is the seventh Sage, who is

destined to be the leader of

them all...

It is I, the Princess of Hyrule,

Zelda.

It says "before time began", which means Time began when or after the Goddesses arrived.

Zelda holds the Triforce of Wisdom, which is solely the property of Nayru. It would make sense for Zelda to have one of her artifacts. The Ocarina of Time. Where's the proof? There's not definite proof. However, there are things that must be considered.

Zelda mentions the Goddess to you before reteaching Link the Song of Time, which will aid him specifically using the Ocarina of Time. The Ocarina of Time is one of the most renowned video game musical instruments for its involvement in the Zelda series by utilizing the control of time. But when you look closely, you'll see it's not exactly alone.

In the Zelda series, there have been about three artifacts that let you control time. The Master Sword, in Ocarina of Time, let you cycle between a seven year period. The Ocarina of Time of course, manipulates time and other things. And lastly, a lesser known artifact, the Harp of Ages, which is actually wielded by the Oracle of Ages, whose name is (Shockingly) Nayru. They're all mostly blue. Wisdom in the Zelda series is often represented by the color blue. The Zora symbol, which is also Nayru's symbol, is blue. Nayru's pearl is blue. The oracle Nayru is always dressed in blue. Nayru is represented by blue. It makes sense for all these time-based items to be her creation, or at least, her tools. So Zelda, who has ties with Nayru, has an item which is colored in Nayru's representation, which allows the control of time, which other blue items also control.

Not only that, but Nayru is said to have created law in the world.

Nayru...

Poured her wisdom onto the earth

and gave the spirit of law to

the world.

When this is said, the cut scene shows the sky forming and the sun shining in the sky. This would imply she made things like gravity for the atmosphere, and the sun itself, and the sun's movement across the sky is the only standard there really is for passing time in Hyrule, and time is a law everyone has to follow. It would make sense that the Ocarina of Time can not only control Time, but can also manipulate night and day using the Sun's song, if it were owned by Nayru.

Another point about this is naming. My theory is that the citizens of Hyrule and Termina don't even know the Goddess of Time's name. Think about it. In the Deku Tree's creation story, he named all three Goddesses. But he's been around for untold ages. When listening to Zelda's creation story, she merely tells the story, and doesn't name any of the Goddesses, despite having strong ties with one of them, as well as being part of the royal Family of Hyrule that has closely guarded the secret for untold ages. If she doesn't know their names, it's safe to assume their names died with the Deku Tree. Since Nayru, in this theory, controls time and law in the world, wouldn't it make sense for them to call her the Goddess of Time, having no other name for her?

Look at the Gerudo. It's safe to assume that the Goddess of Sand is actually Din for the same reason. Din appeared in Oracle of Seasons as a dark-skinned orange-haired woman. Sound familiar? Din looks exactly like a Gerudo. Din also holds the Triforce of Power, which Ganondorf, of the Gerudo tribe, gains frequently. The statue of the Goddess of Sand also resembles Din. Din supposedly created the land. Goddess of the Sand. It fits perfectly. The only reason they have those names is because everyone forgot them. The Goddess of Time is an alias for Nayru as the Goddess of Sand is an alias for Din.

You may be wondering why the Terminans worship a Goddess that supposedly doesn't even hang around their realm. Well, she might. In Clock Town, there are many golden carvings of Triforces on the walls. Nintendo had a choice of whether or not to put those textures there. Even if it's a fluke, there are Triforces on the underside of the blocks in the Stone Tower. The Goddesses clearly had some role in Terminan development.

Also, it's kind of hard to miss that there's an Oracle with Nayru's name, who wields control over Time.

There is no "Goddess of Time" in addition to the three Golden Goddesses, only Nayru.

I'm sleepy, so that's about all I can draw up right now, so yeah.

Good night, think about it.

Sahaqiel

[Aethix 129]

Zelda mentions gods after Ganondorf's defeat in Ocarina of Time. She says, "Without a strong, righteous mind, he could not control the power of the gods... and..." then the tower starts to collapse. This suggests the existence of male gods in the Hyrulean religion, allowing for the possibility of many gods, male and female, other than Din, Nayru, and Farore. I personally believe the Hyrulean religion is similar to the Greek or Roman religions--they have a god or goddess for just about everything, including time. I still believe Din, Nayru, and Farore are the only gods who get pieces of the triforce, but there are lower gods and goddesses.

You also stated that the name of the goddesses might have been forgotten by the people, including the royal family. This would contradict how, in the Wind Waker, the three pearls were named after the three goddesses, and people other than the spirits, including

the king

, knew their names?

Another thing that suggests the people knew the goddesses' names was that three of the provinces in Twilight Princess were named after them, or at least had very similar names. Of course this is all speculation, but so is everthing else in the theories section.

[Young Link Addict 67]

Well I read the whole thing, and I can't comprehind it all right now. I'll see what I can make out right now.

So what you're saying is that there is no fourth piece, I never believed in it, the Goddess of Time is Nayru, and people worship time in the game to show that time is power, and without time power means nothing.

Also I found this theroy by some dude, who used game shark, or action replay, and found out about Termainian history of the Goddesses, and the 4 Giants, and how Majora is the devil, and the place you fight Twinmold is soupossivly hell in the game... I'll find my topic, and post the theory.

The website was down so I have to use this one. Sorry it's really differnt, and it's about Ikana, and Majora. Sorry. I'll find the website when it's up. I don't like this theory as much, but it's still useful.

http://www.angelfire.com/games/link40/ikana.html

Edited 5 Jan 2009 by Y. Link Addict (see edit history)

[Jack Frost 0]

What he said was that Time cannot exist before time.

[Arcane 12]

Although I agree with Sahaqiel, I have something to support Aethix's theory. In Wind Waker, you meet wind gods. (Cyclos and the other one...) This implies that there more than three gods/goddess, although it's possible that the usage of "God" is different in this case, and they are creatures that control wind, but aren't truly godly.

[Jack Frost 0]

Getting into what is or isn't godly is splitting hairs. They're gods because that's the title Nintendo gave them, and they didn't give us any information which would contradict them being gods.

[Goron Merchant 1]

The lil' fairy of courage in Phantom hourglass is one half of the Ciela, the fairy of time (or way it light?).

This supports your Goddess of Time being another title for another goddess, but it suggests Farore.

I'm just throwin' that out there.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

You also stated that the name of the goddesses might have been forgotten by the people, including the royal family. This would contradict how, in the Wind Waker, the three pearls were named after the three goddesses, and people other than the spirits, including

the king

, knew their names?

Another thing that suggests the people knew the goddesses' names was that three of the provinces in Twilight Princess were named after them, or at least had very similar names. Of course this is all speculation, but so is everthing else in the theories section.

Yes, but I doubt ordinary people made the three pearls, as they were meant for placement in a statue that resembled the Goddesses. It's not like they were some trinket everyone knew about that were mass produced. If you think that the pearls' existence should be without names, look at the Master Sword. It was definitely not created by normal people, yet its name is known in the Zelda universe.

The provinces in Twilight Princess are also guarded by guardian spirits who were created and assigned by the Goddesses, and they're regularly worshiped by the people who live in Hyrule, or at least, in Lanayru province. It makes sense their names would show up somewhere, even if it's a bit distorted.

Also, the three Goddesses are repeatedly referred to as "the gods" for some reason or another. I suppose it's kind of a unisex phrase in Zelda.

YLA: I didn't say there was no fourth piece, though I don't believe in it either. This theory is about disproving the Goddess of Time as being used as something to support the fourth piece theory, or at least, just proving that the Goddess of Time is Nayru. Also, he never used a gameshark or a cheating device. The Stone Tower of Babel theory is a very good theory, but is not proven fact.

Sheogorath: Uh... well, kind of. The three Goddesses must have created time during Hyrule's creation somewhere along the line, and I don't think it would be up to some lesser Goddess to do it for them.

Arcanelord: They're kind of lesser gods. Yeah, they're there, but they're not all powerful like the trinity of the Goddesses is supposed to be.

Sahaqiel

[Arcane 12]

Ok. That's kinda what I thought.

And GM, that's a good point...

[Young Link Addict 67]

YLA: I didn't say there was no fourth piece, though I don't believe in it either. This theory is about disproving the Goddess of Time as being used as something to support the fourth piece theory, or at least, just proving that the Goddess of Time is Nayru. Also, he never used a gameshark or a cheating device. The Stone Tower of Babel theory is a very good theory, but is not proven fact.

Well... I got nothing, but the website, the where the guy did use game shark, or a cheating device, was down so I have to wait. That was a compleatly differnt theory than what I planed.

[Jack Frost 0]

I said that the goddess of time could not have created time, because there was no time in the begining. It was a result of the Three Goddesses mingling together in the creation that made the lesser stations all other beings fall under, including the Goddess of Time (if she is a separate goddess from Nayru it matters not).

It could be that the measure of time is considered the greatest form of order, or law, recognized by all mortals, so Goddess of Time may be a universal title given to Nayru. Is that where you were going Sahaqiel?

Edited 6 Jan 2009 by Sheogorath (see edit history)

[Duke Abercrombie 0]

I kinda agree with Sahaqiel. Time is a law that everybody has to follow. Even if you're immortal, you are still living in time, but it just means you're not getting old, right?

So then, if Naryu created the laws of Hyrule, Naryu must be the Goddess of Time, because um..she made the laws.

Also, I think that they are the only god/goddesses in Hyrule. The other "gods" could be lesser deities. i.e. Ganon/Ganondorf. He may be immortal or whatever, but he isn't a god. If he was a god, he would not have been killed by the Master Sword

But then, what about the "Fourth piece" in the OoT Hylian shield? If there are only three gods, it must be an easter egg or a joke that Zelda developers played. Probably not a fourth piece, since it is not shown on the Hylian shields in TP and MM

But, we may never know the truth............................................

Edited 6 Jan 2009 by DukeTwilight (see edit history)

[Jack Frost 0]

Its settled for anyone who actually looks at what is there. No, she does not live within time because she created it. Again, splitting hairs with the whole demigod/god/notquitegod thing. To quote myself: They're gods because that's the title Nintendo gave them, and they didn't give us any information which would contradict them being gods.

Ganondorf isn't a god. You need to examine the context, and note the fact Nintendo hasn't given him the title of god. Ganondorf's titles. He can be killed so he isn't immortal.

Edited 7 Jan 2009 by Sheogorath (see edit history)

[Duke Abercrombie 0]

Its settled for anyone who actually looks at what is there. No, she does not live within time because she created it. Again, splitting hairs with the whole demigod/god/notquitegod thing. To quote myself: They're gods because that's the title Nintendo gave them, and they didn't give us any information which would contradict them being gods.

Ganondorf isn't a god. You need to examine the context, and note the fact Nintendo hasn't given him the title of god. Ganondorf's titles. He can be killed so he isn't immortal.

Uh, I didn't say that Ganondorf was a god.

[Jack Frost 0]

I read that sentence more carefully this time and noticed that. I saw diety and ganondorf and so I thought you were saying he is a god, sorry about that, my mistake

As fair warning to anyone I target a response to, I'm impatient, but I swear that doesn't mean anything personal against you. It comes with being the Madgod.

Edited 7 Jan 2009 by Sheogorath (see edit history)