The Golden Goddesses
Who are they? Why are they?
Let's look at our own world for reference. Throughout the development of the human world, countless religions have been formed by people in an attempt to come to terms with nature; to place faith in it for the sake of understanding how things work. Divine beings are created and upheld by the imaginations of people, inspired by nature and supernature and are thus assigned to different elements found within the aforementioned spectrums and within human emotions and thought. We know not the true origin of anything, so we place faith in the potential existence of higher beings who govern the recognized laws of the world. Religion developed as early man developed the ability of toolmaking and foresight, derivatives of bipedalism. As we discovered how to think, we discovered how to craft, and thus realized that just as we had the ability to govern objectism—and in application to the hunt—we could also control non-sentient life forms, and so we developed the first form of agriculture: pastoralism. As we herded and domesticated animals, we realized we could do the same with people, but how? Religion. Religion targets the innermost faith in nature and abstracts and metaphorically transforms it into a set of codes or ideas so people can follow it. In chiefdom societies, the Chieftains and Shamans uphold the religious law as they claim direct connection with nature, and subsequently the gods.
So apply this logic to Hyrule. From the games, we are told that the Goddesses created Hyrule, the Oocca, and the Hylians. They based the world around the laws of Power, Wisdom, and Courage, and upon ascending from the material plane, left three golden triangles representing the aforementioned trio of laws. So long as the Triforce can remain intact and the laws thus upheld by people, everything could thrive. But then Ganon appears from the outlying desert land and separates the Triforce, breaking the balance. Time and again would a hero named Link arise to fend off Ganon and restore the Triforce.
Now try to imagine if we were living in contemporary Hyrule where every country on the planet became aware of one another and such stories devolved into old world mythology. On our very Earth, we are currently in a transitory era where religion is phasing out and agnosticism/atheism and faith in science is becoming more prevalent. Apply this to the world that the Legends of Zelda derive from. You can't, because it's a fictional world. The world from which every Legend of Zelda comes from is our Earth. Zelda is contemporary mythology not to be confused with actual religion. It's purpose is to show what it's like to act out all of the abstractions, unrealism, and obvious fiction that circumvents and pervades every corner of mythology. Imagine playing a game that literally translates the text from Greek, Norse, or Egyptian mythology (or even the Torah, Bible, or Qur'an) to the screen with no attempt to make it historically real. You would have an incredible amount of fantasy and divine elements, ranging from characters to beasts to entire worlds (the original Clash of the Titans does a great job of showing a literally translated version of a Greek mythological tale to the screen).
Here is a brief forward for what's to come: I'd like to point out Christianity. This is a religion whose older Roman Catholic roots are based around a Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is individual, but all one in the same. The Triforce is one triangle comprised of three individual triangles.
The Triforce, the Goddess Codex
The Triforce is the holy religious symbol of the land of Hyrule. It is also a tangible relic that grants immense power. Its backstory suggests that three Goddesses—Din, Nayru, and Farore, who govern the attributes Power, Wisdom, and Courage respectively—created the land long ago and rule over it from the heavens. At the point of their departure from their crafted world formed the golden relic the Triforce, which represented an equilibrium of the aforementioned attributes, thus symbolizing that the world is upheld, balanced by, and abides by these forces. In most of the games based in Hyrule, we are surrounded by lore that supports this tale, yet never have we been given evidence of the Goddesses actually existing.
The Council of Nicaea & The King of Hyrule and the Ancient Sages
The First Council of Nicaea was an event in 325 CE where Constantine, Holy Roman Emperor of Byzantium gathered a large number of Europe's bishops to discuss the popular religion Christianity and how it should generally be viewed and accepted. The primary topic of discussion was whether to write Christianity in a unitarian or trinitarian view, meaning to worship only "God", or "God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit". The latter was settled on because the former seemed too revealing and broad for people to follow. So we have the Holy Trinity in the Christian faith. Where else do we see a Holy Trinity? In Zelda with the Triforce. The Christian Holy Trinity is comprised of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit, all of which are just God, just as the Triforce is comprised of the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage, all of which comprise the Triforce. Essentially, the Council of Nicaea created the real-world Triforce and the legend behind it, how God created the world and man in his image. Sound even more familiar? The legend of the Triforce tells of three Goddesses creating Hyrule, who later on created Hylians in their image. The Triforce is a lie and the Goddesses are false beings fabricated so that people have something to worship.
I'll take this moment to tell the events of the Council of Nicaea with Zelda terminology. The King of Hyrule and the Ancient Sages gathered to create a religion for all to follow. Since they knew of the Triforce as a relic, they decided to create a story behind it where three benevolent Goddesses created Hyrule and the Hylians (which suggests that the Hylians are the dominant race above all others). These men built the Temple of Time, and created the Master Sword and the Spiritual Stones as keys to the Triforce.
Islamic Conquest & Ganon and the Gerudo
Between 711 and 718 CE, Europe (particularly Hispania, reaching as northward as Poiters, France) was invaded by the Islamic Empire as the religion began to spread throughout the world. At this time, Mohammed was viewed by Christian Europe as "The Devil", and in a mistranslation stemming from Poiters ca. 1150 was named "Baphomet". Baphomet is an alternate name for the devil, so in the Christian's eye, Mohammed—the leader of Islam, a religion that continuously tried to spread its influence into Christian Europe—was The Devil. Mind you, the Islamic symbol is the crescent and star, so I'll translate this into Zelda terminology:
Hyrule is a land built religiously around the Triforce. Anything that opposes it is dubbed evil and sealed away. Ganondorf was a member of the desert tribe, the Gerudo. He was their prophecized leader and as such, very much led them to believe him to be a savior and hero.
Alien Origins
A very controversial subject, but many speculate that an alien species, be they extraterrestrial or extradimensional, have influenced humans throughout history—some even going so far as to believe that they tampered with Australopithicine's DNA, resulting in the development of Homo Erectus and thus Homo Sapien Sapien. In that vein, through years of experimentation they created the perfect species to do their bidding. Aliens serve as a potential origin for the gods of old world mythologies, often (if not always) described as "beings from above", either descending from the sky or the peak of the clouded Mount Olympus. Sumerians, Egyptians, and Mayans built pyramids/ziggurats as tributes to their gods, albeit with slightly different uses. The Sumerian ziggurat was built as a temple for tribune and housing for the gods, the Egyptian pyramid was built as a transportational tomb for the Ka of Pharaohs (demigods) to ascend to the heavens (the three great pyramids of Giza are perfectly aligned with Orion's belt), and the Mayan ziggurats were built as human sacrificial alters to satiate the gods' needs. If aliens instigated the development of man and thus the world of man, then the three goddesses are none other than highly intelligent aliens who bestowed upon the world of Hyrule an artifact with promising power, just as some believe this world has hidden alien artifacts, all gilded and extremely technologically advanced. Again, very controversial and probably fictional, but it's a belief that I have to address.
But I won't digress. In relevance to Zelda, we've seen a highly advanced alien species hold importance to the human world: the Oocca. They were here before man, introduced the early Hylia to advanced technology, and provided them with 'magical' artifacts.
In conclusion..
Make what you will of it. The three Golden Goddesses are real within the games because the games are literal translations of myth, but from our points of view: because we are controlling an individual within the game world, we are on the same plane as the Goddesses. Though I would like to know—what do you think of the Goddesses? Who are they to you? Are they Power, Wisdom, and Courage incarnate as higher sentient life forms? Or are they simply imagery used to depict 'gods' in place of three recognized and understood laws? Are they aliens? Are they members of a race predating both the Oocca and the Hylia?
The Triforce is the Goddess Codex. Perhaps it is a piece of technology bestowed upon the world as a codex by the goddesses so that upon studying, people will understand what the three laws are truly about. It is artificial intelligence. Upon being touched by an imbalanced individual, it is able to scan the world looking for two others fit to inherit the remaining two pieces based on who knows what—brain waves and capacity?
Let me know what you think.
[collapse=Some notes from a conversation I had with Firus:]Medieval setting = Kingdoms focused on
Termina = land based on science, astronomy, and observation
The Six Elder Sages = the Council of Nicaea
The Triforce = Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Ganon = Islamic Conquest
The six elder sages as seen in ALttP and TP reflect the Holy Roman Council of Nicaea, those who fight against the Islamic Empire and keep it out of Europe in the desert countries.
Ganon is the embodiment of Islam.
Hence why the Gerudo originally had the crescent moon and star symbol.
Either the creators are trying to say that Islam is evil, or they're trying to create a retelling of our history ca. 715 CE (which is the central year between 711 and 718 CE when the Islam Empire invaded Europe), and which I think OoT is based on.
Ganon is not evil, he simply has different views.
He wants to conquer the Triforce (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) so he can establish his own rule.
The Elder Sages ****ed everyone over by creating the tale of the Triforce and the Goddesses.
And Zelda, their leader, represents the Pope.
the King of Hyrule, the Holy Roman Empire
in some cases there is no King
and that's when Zelda is both Holy Roman Empire and Pope
such as Justinius of Russia, who was both
Rome (Hyrule) fell at one point and the capital moved elsewhere...
as it did in ST
across the ocean (Mediterranean & Great Sea) to a new land
Byzantium and the Lokomo Kingdom (New Hyrule)
While Istanbul was the capital of the Roman Empire, it was attacked by the Islamic Empire and taken over again, just as Ganon attacked Hyrule AGAIN in LoZ.
Take Ancient-Medieval Art History in college. You'll appreciate it.
Literally the whole semester, I was comparing things to Zelda.
I think Termina is based on the Maya Empire, for they worshiped astronomy and its correlation with time. Their calendar is crafted perfectly in alignment with the stars, as Termina is formed perfectly with the compass and the clock.
And their architecture? Mayan by far.
All of the wall paintings and such.
Man.
And dude, all of our "medieval epics" such as King Arthur and such are all based on Christianity, with Excalibur being a holy embodiment of the cross as a sword that only the chosen one who fought in the name of the Holy Trinity could draw. Sound familiar? Link is the chosen one by the "Gods" (aka the Triforce aka by the Holy Trinity) to draw Excalibur (Master Sword) to save the land from evil.
And it's quite obvious that Ganon is seen as the devil; as Muhammed (or mistranslated during the invasion in Poiters, France as "Baphomet", which later became known as a great Islamic demon leader).
It all makes sense now.
And dude, muslims don't eat pigs, so for the leader of the muslims aka Gerudo to be transformed into that which they don't eat...
surely an impetus to be hateful and spiteful
But in the wrong way.
They're making us fight against the Islamic Empire as if they're evil.
as if Christianity is superior...
That's why the Stone Tower Temple is the best, because it's built as a blaspheme against Christianity.
Science is advanced natural religion, as natural religion is when we put our faith in the observable, and science is nothing more than the study and analysis of all that is observable.
I think the healthiest thing we can do for Zelda is to destroy Hyrule.
Link truly is representative of Jesus Christ.
Ugh.
I just facepalmed.
"Jesus is the saviour who will always topple all opposing religions, particularly the evil from the desert.."
Likewise.
I really and truly hate the Triforce and sympathize with the Terminans, particularly the Ikana who might be the brightest people.
Also dude.
I think ancient Termina, particularly the Ikana hated the Triforce because those who represent it brought pain and suffering to their people, just as Hernan Cortes and the Spaniard conquistadors brought an end to the Aztecs and other ancient Mexican civilizations.
Because Cortes fought by the word of God and ****.
I mean, Termina is more of a stretch to analyze because we only have one game that it's featured or even mentioned in.
Link kind of represents the English coming over to spread the word of Christianity even more.
But even that is a stretch.
Like, MM could be the one game that has no real religious ties.
And dude, DUDE.
Talk about biblical
"Great flood"
*facepalm*[/collapse]
tl;dr = the Goddesses are real within the context of the Legend of Zelda world, but aren't from a pragmatic point of view.
