Field Note #10: A Tale of Two Temples
- The Wolfess
- Aug 29, 2020
- 25 min read
Updated: Aug 30, 2020
Base Stats:
Game: Skyward Sword
Version: Original Wii Version, Physical Copy
System: Nintendo Wii U
Session Play Time: 1 hr 45 min
Total Play Time: 17 hrs 09 mins
Content Covered: The Imprisoned #1, Ballad of the Goddess, Isle of Songs entrance
Fi Report: 5 Forced Interruptions
**Spoiler Alert for key events within Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess***
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Temple of Hylia
The Ancient Temple of Time
The Two Temples in Ancient Times
The Demon War Arrives at the Temples
Rauru and The Era of Chaos
Spirit and Light
The Temples Through the Ages
Summary and Conclusion
Introduction
In an age before recorded time, before the rise of and fall of nations and kingdoms, when the goddess’s light still shone upon the land that bears her name, a mysterious people built great monuments whose stories have been lost by the time of Skyward Sword. These people were so beloved of the goddess that they were known as the People of Hylia, the Hylians, and within an unnamed land which would eventually be called the land of Hylia’s Rule, Hyrule, they built two temples that were grander than all others. The identity, purpose, and evolution of these temples is a surprising series of questions and contradictions which we will examine today.
Most Zelda Fans have experienced Ocarina of Time, arguably one of the greatest games ever made. For some, like myself, Ocarina was the first Zelda game we experienced. It is because of that game that I am a devoted Zelda Fan today. Although the whole game is nostalgic, there is one location that is more powerful and more sacred than all others: the Temple of Time. Despite how iconic the Temple of Time is and its impact on lore throughout the Zelda series, did you know that the Temple of Time most of us are familiar with is actually the second temple of that name? Did you know that there are two Temples of Time?
The story of the two temples goes back to the very beginning of the timeline. These sacred places have been a part of the earliest known history of the world of Hyrule, and events that have taken place within their walls reverberate throughout the timeline, to even Breath of the Wild itself. In this Field Note, I will examine the known history of each of these locations and trace them through the official timeline. We will pay extra attention to the mysteries and similarities of the two structures, and we will speculate about the unknowns that abound in this story.
This article has taken a while to write due to the magnitude of the subject matter and the sheer amount of research that went into it. As such, it’s a longer read than normal. I have broken it out into manageable sections and included navigation tags throughout the article for ease of reading. May these guideposts show you the way when you find yourself lost.
Now, HFN adventurers and Hyrulian scholars, grab a cup of warm coffee or tea, get your Hyrule Historia and Hyrule Encyclopedia, and let’s dive in.
The Temple of Hylia
The first of these temples which Link enters early in his adventure is the Sealed Temple in Faron Province. Hyrule Historia tells us (HH p.71) that in the distant past, before it was split in half and transformed into the Demon’s King’s prison, it was known as the Temple of Hylia. Built “in the center of the world”, the Temple of Hylia housed three of the most powerful relics in existence: the Goddess Sword, one of two Gates of Time, and the all-powerful Triforce itself.
These relics were divided and hidden, the temple itself torn asunder, when Hylia sent a plot of land carrying two of the three relics and all the surviving hylians to safety in the sky during the original battle against the Demon God Demise. In the ages that followed this event, the temple’s true name and purpose were forgotten with no one remaining to remember them. It became known as the Sealed Temple because all anyone knew about the ruins left behind was that the temple doors were sealed shut tight and the strange spiral that descended into the earth supposedly sealed some great, forgotten evil power.
At the end of his journey, the Hero of Sky will reunite the two parts of the temple and return the Temple of Hylia to its original form. Once again, all three powerful relics will be housed and protected within these sacred walls, for a time at least. That is the last we see of this place in the Era of the Sky. Its history is storied and mostly known to us, on the surface at least. As we dive deeper into the ancient, hidden history of the two temples, you will find that hyrulian history isn’t as simple as it seems.
Later in the timeline, the Temple of Time will be built upon the ruins of the Temple of Hylia. We become very familiar with this temple during the Era of the Hero of Time, and it has its own mysteries yet to be solved, but we will revisit this subject later in the article. For now, we need to look at the second temple in this iconic due—the Ancient Temple of Time.
The Ancient Temple of Time
Hyrule Historia and Hyrule Encyclopedia refer to this place as the “ancient Temple of Time”. We could also call it the first or original Temple of Time. Very little is said about it directly in these texts other than the fact that it holds one of two Gates of Time. Although we see an important event take place here during the game, we know little of the history, purpose, and importance of this desert oasis. With some digging and some deep analysis, however, I believe you will be shocked to hear what these dusty walls can tell us.
When I exited the Lanayru mine and walked out into the heart of Lanayru desert for the first time, I was hit by a shocking sight. In the distance, rising so tall and dominant over the entire landscape that it’s impossible to miss, is a giant stone statue of the Hyrulian Royal Crest. We soon find out that this imposing figure stands inside the ruins of a forgotten temple known only by historians like Gorko the Goron as the Temple of Time.
Immediately we are faced with the first of the ancient Temple of Time’s great mysteries: how is it possible for the royal crest to be present at all? You see, Hyrule Kingdom won’t be established until thousands of years later during the Era of Prosperity, right before the events of the Minish Cap (HH p.69). If there is no Kingdom, then there is no royal family, and therefore there should be no royal crest present in this game at all, let alone one sculpted so large that it’s literally visible on the game’s world map itself.
We are sure that this is the royal crest, specifically, and not some play on the Crest of the Goddess Hylia, because both Hyrule Historia and Hyrule Encyclopedia discuss the difference between the two symbols explicitly.
“The goddess Hylia had a birdlike crest, and the people of Skyloft rode giant birds. The crest of the royal family incorporates the historically important bird, as well as the three triangles of the Triforce.” -Hyrule Historia page 77
“The Royal Crest depicts a bird, likely in reference to the Loftwings used by ancient Hylians to move about in Skyloft. There is a similar engraving in the ancient Temple of Time.” -Hyrule Encyclopedia page 15
It is worth noting that this is an alternative form of the Royal Crest that was dominant in Ocarina of Time. Post-Ocarina, it is primarily seen on the Hylian Shield throughout all ages of the Kingdom of Hyrule, including in Breath of the Wild. The difference between the main crest and this version is that this version includes the head of the bird in the crest. Both versions are seen used by the royal family in different eras and contexts.
This temple was built so many years ago that the green land has turned to arid dust. Most of the buildings no longer exist. Hyrule Encyclopedia tells us (HE p.26) that “[the Temple of Time] was built at the heart of what was once a thriving civilization where Ancient Robots were used to mine timeshift stones.” We are never told which ancient civilization built it, but we do have some clues.
First, I’d like to point out that this quote tells us that the robots were a tool invented by the ancient culture, NOT the ancient culture itself. So we can rule out the idea that the robots where responsible for building the Temple of Time. It is obvious that the mining facilities built by the robots have a different architectural style from the buildings built by the ancient people. The mining facilities tend to look similar to the robots themselves, whereas these other buildings are distinctly different.
The biggest clue as to who these ancient people were is in the other buildings we see in-game that share the same architectural hallmarks. These are the ancient Temple of Time, the Temple of Hylia, and the Isle of Songs. Sky Keep is technically underneath the Temple of Hylia, so I don’t count it as a separate structure. All of these buildings display the same large bird carvings (Loftwings) and depictions of the Goddess Hylia herself, along with other, more subtle architectural hallmarks. It’s clear they are all built by the same people.
If, then, all three buildings are built by the same people, and all three buildings clearly display hallmarks of the Goddess Hylia, the next things we can deduce about them is that they are all built to honor the goddess. If these places are all sacred to Hylia, who is the patron goddess of the hylian race, we can then conclude that Hylia’s people, the hylians, built and populated these areas before they were sent to the sky during the war with Demise.
For further reading, please take a look at this interesting article analyzing the architectural hallmarks of buildings created by these ancient people.
That said, if you subscribe to the age-old idea that the sheikah, servants of the goddess, built the robots in ancient times and populated this area, then the idea I’m proposing is still the same. I like to think that it’s possible the sheikah built and managed the technology seen throughout the Lanayru region, as servants of Hylia, but the hyrulian people who had the goddess’s favor were the primary occupants of the land (much like we see throughout Hyrule’s storied history). This theory also explains why the area is completely abandoned today. But this is all merely an interesting aside. Back to the history of the Ancient Temple of Time.
If, then, hylians did build these temples, the fact that all of these places feature the same loftwing designs and statues throughout all three locations is significant. This tells us that the hylians were aware of loftwings before going to the sky and saw the birds as a symbol of the goddess Hylia. If they saw Loftwings and Hylia as intrinsically connected, that sends light on why they always depict Hylia as having large bird wings in her statues. This is important in connecting the dots of who built this temple, what this impossible crest meant to them, and what the crest can tell us about the purpose of the Ancient Temple of Time.
Still with me? We’ve already covered a lot, so let me recap before I move on to my first theory of the article.
What we know as the Temple of Time used to be called the Temple of Hylia in the ancient time of the Era of the Goddess Hylia and the Era of the Sky. This temple was located near Faron Forest.
The original, Ancient Temple of Time was built in Lanayru Desert back when it was a thriving metropolis.
The ancient Temple of Time features a dominant symbol that is impossible to exist. This crest was invented thousands of years later when Hyrule Kingdom, and its divine royal family, was first established.
The Temple of Hylia, the Temple of Time, and the Island of Songs share the same architectural trademarks, such as the same depictions of loftwings and Hylia.
All three temples were built by the same people, likely the ancient hylians, in honor of their goddess, Hylia, before the hylians were sent skyward during the war with Demise.
The Two Temples in Ancient Times
Here’s where we start getting into the realm of theory. In other words, here’s where all of this really starts to get good. Earlier in this article we established that the Triforce was housed in the Temple of Hylia in a complex maze beneath the feet of the goddess statue itself. However, what if that was not always the case? What if it was moved there for some reason?
I believe that is exactly what happened, and I can prove it too.
Hyrule Encyclopedia (HE.p.26) says that the Temple of Time has always housed the Master Sword. Since it housed the Goddess Sword before that sword was transformed into the Master Sword during the events of Skyward Sword, this is technically true. However, no source I could find mentions the “new Temple of Time’s” other purpose as a hiding place for the Triforce itself. The Triforce is hidden within the Temple of Time in Ocarina of time, with the Master Sword acting as a key. If the Temple of Hylia also served as the hiding place for the most powerful relic in the entire world for its entire early history, wouldn’t that be significant enough to at least warrant a mention? Isn’t it odd that the developers wouldn’t even hint at that being a dual purpose of the Temple of Time in the official history books?
This thought is what led me to wonder if the Temple of Hylia wasn’t originally built to house both the Triforce AND the Goddess Sword. It’s risky putting two of the most powerful artifacts in the world underneath the same statue, isn’t it? I wonder if the Temple of Hylia was adapted to hide the Triforce at a later time. What if the ancient Temple of Time in Lanayru province was built to house the Triforce, and the Temple of Hylia was built to house the Goddess Sword? Or, alternatively, was the Temple of Hylia adapted later as a backup during the demon wars?
Let’s back this up and let me walk you to this conclusion with me. It all goes back to that impossible crest. I believe that the that the crest we see at the ancient Temple of Time is a coincidence.
We know from the architecture discussed above that the architects of these temples thought of the loftwings as the main symbol representing Hylia herself. Images of the two are interspersed throughout their architecture and almost seem interchangeable. It makes sense, then, that the ancient builders of the temple of time were depicting a loftwing in the same style as Hylia’s crest, just like the people who invented the royal crest did. It would make sense that, given the same inspiration, they would create similar designs.
If the bird depicts a loftwing and represents the goddess Hylia herself, then the fact that it is holding the triforce in its beak (or between its wings), is clear symbolism. The goddess Hylia is protecting and lifting up the triforce for all to see—and everyone in the world CAN see it. Besides the statue of Hylia at the Temple of Hylia, this crest is the largest sculpture in the entire ancient world. There would be no doubt in anyone’s mind what this temple is about as soon as they saw that giant crest on the horizon.
So, rather than intentionally depicting the Royal Crest from the future, which they would have no knowledge of, this crest actually is intended to represent Hylia’s protection of the Triforce. Because of the prominence of this symbol and one other factor that I will explain shortly, I will go so far as to claim that the Triforce itself was housed here, in the center of the ancient world.
In Twilight Princess, the light spirit Lanayru tells us about the origins of the world, the Triforce, the first people, and the first conflict. (Yes, the irony of the spirit Lanayru being the one to tell us this information isn’t lost on me.) After telling us about the creation of the world, the light spirit says “For ages, the people lived at ease, content in mind and body.” During this scene, the people are shown living at peace with one another and the Triforce is shown dwelling among them.
Similarly, during the legend in the opening cinematic of Skyward Sword, the Triforce is shown in a temple surrounded by hylians (see the image above). It wasn't stowed away somewhere safe--no, I believe that these two cinematics prove that the Triforce dwelt among them.
This tells us that at the beginning of the world, before the first war with Demise and his demon hordes, there was peace and the people both knew where the Triforce was and how to access it. No one desired to obtain the Triforce for evil purposes. If you lived in a world without conflict, why hide objects of value? Why not build a great temple in its honor and in honor of the goddess who protects it?
However, to say that they lived in a time of peace is not to say that these people were naïve. Hyrulians and sheikah lively lived together with Hylia, as both seem interwoven into her story in Skyward Sword. Those servants of the goddess, the sheikah, are a tricky people gifted in both technology and foresight. They have foreseen many dark events throughout history and worked to prevent them. They could have foreseen the demon war before it happened and started work on technology to protect the Triforce in case it was ever threatened.
This work resulted in the mining operation throughout the region (hence why the refined timeshift stones bear an ancient version of the sheikah eye). They were mining timeshift stones to create the two gates of time. The evidence for this lies in the fact that the Lanayru Mining Facility, the refinery for the raw stone, connects directly to the Temple of Time through a special tunnel we have discussed before. What better way to construct the gate than to connect the temple directly to building source?
Now, so far we have established that the ancient Temple of Time likely housed the Triforce in the peaceful age near the beginning of the world. Its sister temple, the Temple of Hylia, was likely originally built to house and protect the sacred blade, as we are told in Hyrule Historia and Hyrule Encyclopedia. The sheikah, gifted in foresight due to their deep connection with Hylia, foresaw a future threat to the Triforce. In response, they created the robots to mine timeshift stone and build two Gates of Time—one at the main temple, the Temple of Time, and the other at another temple hidden deep in the woods, far away from the center of their ancient world—the Temple of Hylia in what was probably a wild and untamed Faron Woods. But what did they use the gates for? Why were two Gates of Time built?
The Demon War Arrives At the Temples
Here is what I think went down. This is all speculation, but I think the evidence I have laid out and a few final pieces of the puzzle which I will explain shortly all back up my theory.
The Triforce was known throughout the ancient world to reside under Hylia’s protection at the Temple of Time. Everyone knew about it—you couldn’t miss it with the giant symbol the hylians had constructed over the temple. So when Demise and his hordes rose from a fissure in the earth and marched forth to claim the Triforce, they knew exactly where to go.
With the demon army arriving, the sheikah and the hylians activated their failsafe: the two Gates of Time. Through the time gate in the Temple of Time, they took the Triforce and traveled back in time to a safer age where the demons were still in the ground and the world was at peace. Within this peaceful time, they safely transported the Triforce to its new home in the Temple of Hylia. How else would they have gotten it there? If they were transporting it in the current age, there would be a horde of demons in their way. The only place where it would have been safe to transport the Triforce to the Temple of Hylia is in the past.
Whether the labyrinth already existed or was built by them in the past at this time is irrelevant as the result is the same. They could take the Triforce back to their original time using the Gate of Time at the Temple of Hylia. They could then hide it away in secret where Demise and his hordes would never find it. To ensure it stayed a secret, they hid the second gate of time away and locked its powers into a dormant state. This is the state we find it in during Skyward Sword.
Don’t believe me? Think this is a bunch of fan fiction? Let me present two elements of interest:
First, Ghirahim knows all about the Temple of Time. He knows where it is and that a gate of time is there. He knows it’s an important place. But he knows nothing about the Triforce. After all, if he knew where the Triforce was he would have been pursing that. Not only was the Triforce the sole desire of his god, Demise, it would also bring Demise back instantly if Ghirahim got all three pieces. I propose that the only thing that could give the Temple of Time so much notoriety that even the demons know where it is and that it’s a sacred place is if the Triforce itself, the sole object of their whole war, was once kept there.
Second, the gates of time are DIRECTLY connected to whatever they were doing at the Temple of Time. How do I know? Simple: the crest located ONLY above the Temple of Time is also found prominently displayed on the dormant forms of the gates of time. See this screenshot from the gate at the Temple of Hylia and the concept art below it:
The Gate of Time at the Temple of Hylia is very well hidden. Ghirahim doesn’t find out about it until he stumbles into the fire sanctuary and sees the engraving there. Only the Harp of the Goddess herself and the Blade of the Hero (the Master Sword) can both receal the gate and activate it. Both keys are required. Even if the demons knew about it, which they didn’t, it was well protected.
All of these factors together paint a strong, clear picture.
As we said before, the Ancient Temple of Time housed the Triforce and the Temple of Hylia housed the sacred Goddess Sword. Both were given a Gate of Time just in case the Triforce came under threat. During the war, Ghirahim and the demons he led knew that the goal of their war, the Triforce, was at the ancient Temple of Time and it was targeted by them. That would also explain why it’s in such rough shape—it was attacked, but the Triforce had already been moved.
Hylia and her followers took the Triforce into the past through the Gate of Time at the Temple of Time. In the past, where it was still safe to transport in the open, the Triforce was moved to its new location in the Sky Keep labrynth beneath the Temple of Hylia. The Gate of Time at the Temple of Hylia was then locked away behind two of the strongest remaining relics of the age: the Goddess’s own Sacred Harp and her blade which would one day be used by her Chosen Hero.
However, hiding away the Triforce would have enraged Demise, the demon god, beyond anything seen before. The amount of destruction caused by this rage would have been incredible. After all, they stole the object of his desire out from under his nose. The powerful relic in the world seems to have completely disappeared.
This conflict would have directly led to the backstory we hear about in the opening cinematics of Skyward Sword. Demise obviously learned about the existence of the Temple of Hylia, as the final battle went down there. Perhaps he suspected that the Triforce was there—or just knew that Hylia, herself, was there and would know the location of the Triforce.
Either way, as the demon army marched on her temple, Hylia gathered all of her people upon the land around the Goddess Statue, the very location where the sword and the Triforce were hidden. She sent them all to the sky, along with her harp, and waited in the ruins that remained for the Demon God to arrive. When he did, they battled. Demise was defeated and sealed, but Hylia was mortally wounded. But what happened then will be the topic for another day’s article.
We have already covered a lot of ground together today. Let’s recap again before moving on to the conclusion of this article:
The Sealed Temple was once called the Temple of Hylia in ancient times. It’s purpose was to protect the Master Sword and one of the Gates of Time. It was located in Faron Province.
The ancient Temple of Time, located in Lanayru Province (once the center of the ancient world), was built to house the Triforce. It also held one of the two Gates of Time.
The “Royal Crest” at the Temple of Time and on the dormant forms of the Gates of Time represent Hylia’s protection over the Triforce itself. It is not related to the Kingdom of Hyrule.
The Gates of Time were built out of Timeshift Stone by the Sheikah as a failsafe in case the Triforce were ever in danger.
Demise and his demon army knew that the Triforce was at the Temple of Time. He mounted an attack on the temple, but Hylia and her people already moved the Triforce to its new hiding place.
The Triforce was taken to the peaceful, safe past via the Gates of Time. In the past, it was moved to its new location at the Temple of Hylia.
The ancient legend recounted by Fi in the opening cinematics of Skyward Sword takes place as described.
Rauru and the Era of Chaos
Now that we’ve gone over all of the ancient history of these two important temples, I’d like to look forward on the timeline. Specifically, I’d like to answer the question that we posed earlier in the article: why is the Temple of Hylia now known as the Temple of Time? How did the second Temple of Time come to be?
This story takes place in an age called the Era of Chaos. It is said that there was peace in the land for many generations following the events of Skyward Sword. A long enough time passed that the location of the original Temple of Time was forgotten, and the Temple of Hylia was no more than some ruins whose true name and purpose were lost. The Era of Chaos interrupts this age of peace.
Turn to Hyrule Historia (HH p.77) for the full story. It is said that legends of the supreme power of the Triforce spread throughout the world. Vicious battles began between people who wanted to claim the power of the Triforce for themselves. Hyrule Encyclopedia (HE p.11) tells us that this is when the Interlopers of Twilight Princess tried to take control of the sacred realm using dark magic and were banished to the twilight realm.
In response to these dark events, the Sage of Light, Rauru, hatched an ingenious plan. Hyrule Encyclopedia (HE p.25) tells us the whole story:
“By the time the ancient sage Rauru constructed the second Temple of Time in the Era of Chaos to seal the Sacred Realm and the Triforce within, the events of Skyward Sword had faded into legend. It was said that the Master Sword had been used by a hero who traveled between two times and that there was a temple called the Temple of Time.
Borrowing the name of legend, Rauru constructed the new Temple of Time on the ruins of the Sealed Temple and made the Master Sword a key for passage into the Sacred Realm. Since only someone worthy could pull the sword from its pedestal, it would keep those unworthy of the Triforce from entering the Sacred Realm.
Rauru then secluded himself in the Sacred Realm in the Chamber of Sages along with the Triforce.”
Hyrule Kingdom would be founded sometime after this event. The Castle and its town, the center of the Kingdom, was built around the Temple of Time so that Hylia’s decedents could watch over the Triforce forever.
Since we’ve mentioned the Sage of Light here, I want to briefly touch on the Sages. I think that this will be a full article of its own someday, so I won’t go in depth. It is important, however, to touch on these important figures in relationship to the Temple of Time.
Hyrule Encyclopedia (HE p.24) tells us that the Six Sages serve alongside the royal family and the hero in the sacred duty of guarding the Triforce. We also know that they have a role in maintaining the Power to Repel Evil inside the Master Sword. Because of this, their destiny was also tied to the second Temple of Time during the Era of the Hero of Time.
There are actually seven sages—Six core sages with Zelda acting as the seventh sage and leader of the sages. Every sage has an element tied to them—Forest, Fire, Water, Spirit, Shadow, and Light. Rauru, as we discussed above, is the Sage of Light. His temple, the Temple of Light, was built inside the sacred realm. It is, therefore, also locked in the Temple of Time by the Master Sword alongside the Triforce.
Curiously, we can see all six elemental symbols (directly representing the six sages themselves) within the Temple of Hylia outside the Goddess Statue’s courtyard. Were there six sages who served with Hylia as their leader in the ancient world? That is a theory for another day.
Spirit and Light
As I dug deep into Zelda lore for this article, as the fog of mystery began to give way to the clear picture I have shared with you today, one question still bugged me: if the Ancient Temple of Time was so important that the name of the Temple of Hylia could be forgotten but the name of the crumbling, abandoned desert temple lived on to inspire Rauru, what became of it?
We know that the Temple of Hylia became the Second Temple of Time and the Temple of Light was hidden inside the Sacred Realm and locked away by the Master Sword itself. Somehow, throughout all the ages of Hyrule, this temple continues to be associated with the light sage. We will talk about that in a moment. I believe that the Ancient Temple of Time also became a sacred sight for another sage: the Sage of Spirit.
We know that Lanayru Desert came to be known as Gerudo Desert by the time the Kingdom of Hyrule was established. If there were a place of such great history and spiritual power as the Ancient Temple of Time, wouldn’t it make sense that ancient people moving into the region would build their own new temple on its ruins, just like Rauru did?
I don’t think the theory is much of a stretch at all. In fact, I believe that the Spirit Temple, ancient and forgotten by the time of Ocarina of Time, was built on the ruins of the Ancient Temple of Time. It could even be argued that the sand goddess depicted throughout the Spirit Temple was the ancient Gerudo’s attempt at depicting the Goddess Hylia whose effigy adorned the walls of the old temple. It is common in real-world history for the same legendary figure to look very different and have different stories in different cultures. Just look at all the different cultural interpretations of the Greek Gods. The Goddess of Love exists in just about every culture, but her look and story is vastly different in each.
Another reason I think this is a definite possibility is that this location continued to be a place of power and sacred energy throughout the History of Hyrule, and not just as a spirit or sand temple. In the Era of Twilight, we discover a place called the Arbiter’s Grounds. Hyrule Encyclopedia (HE p.45) tells us directly that the Arbiter’s Grounds were built around and atop the Spirit Temple from Ocarina of Time. Many suspect that the statue of the sand goddess found inside the grounds might be the same one we see in Ocarina of Time, although scale is different.
During the Age of Twilight, the Arbiter’s Grounds is a prison built to house the most dangerous criminals. However, it also houses the Mirror of Twilight and seems to be the home of that era’s Six Sages. This is the only place the six sages of that era can be encountered. If the sages are meant to protect the Triforce and the Master Sword, why would they be found at the Arbiter’s Grounds instead of at the ruins of the Temple of Time—unless, as I’ve proposed, there is something special about this place. Unless this place was once the ancient home of the Triforce—the Ancient Temple of Time.
The Two Temples Throughout the Ages
We have established that the Temple of Hylia became the Temple of Time. The Ancient Temple of Time became the Spirit Temple. I’d like to take a moment to track the two temples throughout the known timeline.
I have not actually played the Minish Cap yet (it will come right after I finish Skyward Sword—I’m so excited!), but I do know that the Temple of Time is nowhere to be seen during this game, even though the Kingdom of Hyrule had already been established. I do not have a theory about this yet because I haven’t played through the game. The location of the ruins of the ancient temple are also a mystery. Hyrule Kingdom is much smaller during this era and does not include the Desert within its borders. Perhaps the Gerudo have already built their temple atop its ruins, or perhaps it is being buried in the same. We will never know.
Therefore, after Skyward Sword the two temples faded into obscurity for a time. Although we know that the new Temple of Time has already been built, and I think the Spirit Temple is also likely to have already been built, Hyrule Kingdom itself has forgotten them.
During the Era of the Hero of Time, the Temple of Time was central to the kingdom and the story of Ocarina of Time. The capital city of Hyrule had been moved to the location of the sacred temple so that the Royal Family could be near the Triforce. The Spirit Temple, on the other hand, was forgotten in the desert and overtaken by Demise’s incarnation and his evil mothers, Twinrova. Given the fact that the location was so famous for being a place of great power—both to the forces of Good and the forces of Evil—it isn’t shocking that evil itself would make the ruins of the old Temple of Time its new base of operations. It is the second most powerful location in the world, after all.
As we know, the timeline splits in three directions after Ocarina of Time. The Adult Timeline is easy—since the goddesses flooded Hyrule, the Temple of Time and the Spirit Temple are both drowned under the waters and lost forever.
Similarly, there is not a lot to say about the location in the Downfall Timeline. The desert’s name and history are forgotten and Hylians during the time of a Link to the Past just call it the Desert of Mystery. No one lives there anymore, but clearly someone in ancient times built the Desert Palace atop the ruins of the Spirit Temple. This is a special dungeon due to the role the Book of Mudora plays in entering it, showing the location still has power about it. This palace still exists throughout the rest of the timeline. By the time of Adventure of Link, the latest game on the Downfall Timeline, the desert is called Parapa Desert and the Palace is still there—now called Parapa Palace.
It’s in the Child Timeline where things get really interesting for the two temples. As we touched on before, the Arbiter’s Grounds is built over the Spirit Temple and it continues to be a place of great importance. The Sages of that era are found in the desert, not at the Temple of Time, and that is very significant. The Temple of Time itself warrants a whole article when we get to Ocarina of Time. There are very interesting theories about the dungeon we play through being the fabled Temple of Light hidden within the Temple of Time, but I will save that speculation for another day.
That brings us up to Breath of Wild. Please see the FAQ for why I’m putting Breath of the Wild at the end of the Child Timeline. Both the Temple of Time and the Arbiter’s Grounds can be found in the newest Zelda game—and they are both in complete ruins.
The Temple of Time was obviously rebuilt after we see it during Twilight Princess, and a small Goddess Statue now sits inside it as the focus. It was overrun by guardians and now lies in ruins and forgotten atop the isolated plateau. The Arbiter’s Grounds is also still there in Gerudo Desert, although it is being swallowed by the harsh sands. A Molduga is the only living creature that calls this temple home now.
Although they are both skeletons of their former selves by the time of Breath of the Wild, I argue that these locations have too much power to be forgotten entirely. I propose that if Breath of the Wild 2 brings back traditional dungeons underground, it is likely that these two locations are prime targets for a revival. Imagine finding a secret entrance that lets Link and Zelda into forgotten catacombs underneath the temples. Perhaps even the ruins of Sky Keep and the Lanayru Mining Facility itself.
If not in Breath of the Wild, however, then some other time. There will always be another Zelda game, and that Zelda game will likely have some mysterious temple in the desert whose purpose has been forgotten and some temple guarding the Master Sword itself. It is a legacy that runs deep in Hyrule’s veins and makes this land what it is—the land where the power of the Goddesses sleeps.
Conclusion
Today we have examined the history of two sister temples—the ancient Temple of Time and the Temple of Hylia—from the beginning of known hyrulian history through the end of it. After all the amazing theories we covered today, what really gets me about these two temples is how they are always connected. At the beginning of time, they were literally connected by the Gates of Time. But as the ages came and went, they remained spiritually connected.
As Zelda says of Midna in Twilight Princess, the two temples “are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other.” The Royal Family calls the Temple of Time its most sacred place. Demise’s champion, Ganondorf, likewise calls the Spirit Temple his. This stays true in Twilight Princess, as the Arbiter’s Grounds acts as Hyrule’s dark, bloody secret. It is the site of the Royal Family’s greatest shame, and Ganondorf’s first foothold when he reenters the World of Light through the Mirror of Twilight.
In the end, these two incredible sister temples of great power and significance—the Temple of Hylia and the Temple of Time—may have been reduced to forgotten rubble. They may hold no power and no significance. The Kingdom of Hyrule may have forgotten them. Still, despite neglect a ghost of their ancient power can still be felt. When you wander these ruins, you can almost hear the voices of all the people who have struggled and died in these locations. You can almost hear the sages chanting their songs to honor the Goddess and the Triforce itself. These voices will never be silenced as long as there are those of us who remember.
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