Goddess of Time

"The Goddess of Time is protecting you. If you play the Song of Time, she will aid you..."

- Princess Zelda

The Goddess of Time is a character first mentioned in Majora's Mask as being the one responsible for assisting in the quest of the Hero of Time, Link, by allowing him to relive his three days in the land of Termina many times over on his quest to stop the Moon from crashing into Termina. This apocalyptic situation is due to the evil power of Majora, whose evil essence overtakes the Skull Kid when he puts on the powerful Majora’s Mask, which he had previously stolen from the Happy Mask Salesman, and is possessed by the being residing within the mask, causing him to attempt to destroy Termina by means of pulling the Moon from its orbit. Link is first told of the Goddess of Time by Princess Zelda shortly before leaving Hyrule on his quest to find his fairy companion Navi. Zelda tells Link that if he should play the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time (which she gave to him as a parting gift) in a time of great need, the Goddess of Time would come to his aid. This is proven true whenever Link plays the mystical song on the ocarina, where he is sent back through time and finds himself right back where he began on his first day in Termina. With the aid of the Goddess of Time, Link is able to manipulate time and traverse Termina in search of the mythical Four Giants, who are capable of stopping Termina's coming doom.

Majora's Mask
The Goddess of Time is officially mentioned in only one game of the series to date, Majora's Mask. While she is never physically seen, her presence is very apparent as the force behind Link's time-travel abilities. She can be called upon by playing the mysterious Song of Time upon the sacred Ocarina of Time, and she will answer the one holding the Ocarina of Time by sending them back through time. She is only ever mentioned by Princess Zelda when Link leaves on his journey to locate a "beloved and invaluable friend", presumably Navi, following the end of Ocarina of Time. This encounter is reflected upon by Link when he reclaims the Ocarina of Time from the Skull Kid's possession atop the Clock Tower in South Clock Town on the night of the Final Day, the eve of the Carnival of Time. Zelda speaks of the Goddess's great power and that, with the Ocarina of Time in hand and knowledge of the Song of Time, she will come to Link's aid should he need her. When Tatl remarks upon the impending doom of the Moon's descent upon Clock Town and exclaims that they need more time, she calls out for the help of the Goddess of Time after Link remembers his encounter with Zelda. Using the power of the Ocarina of Time, Link plays the Song of Time and is surprised to find himself speeding back through time, landing in front of the Clock Tower at the dawn of the First Day. Link makes use of this power granted to him by the Goddess of Time countless times throughout his adventure to save Termina and eventually succeeds in his efforts of freeing the Four Giants, something he could not have possibly hoped to accomplish without the time-travel power granted him by the Goddess of Time.

Theories
The identity of the Goddess of Time has not been canonically revealed to date. The Zelda community has repeatedly attempted to theorize who or what she could be, and in some of the most prevalent cases, each one of the Golden Goddesses and a non-canon Fourth Goddess have been assigned to the role by theorists. Zelda Wiki strives not to take sides in debates, but instead to present as many solid sides to the debate as possible. Each argument, however elegant has its own flaws and weaknesses more fitting for forum debate than encyclopedic documentation.

Nayru
Of all characters throughout the entire Zelda series, the one character that many gamers consider one of the best candidates to be the Goddess of Time is none other than the very goddess that created science and wizardry, bringing order to nature, likely including the governing mechanics of time itself, the Goddess of Wisdom Nayru. There are many reasons for this association, first and foremost being Nayru's responsibility for creating the laws of time. Another piece of evidence supporting this theory is the association of her counterpart Oracle, Nayru the Oracle of Ages, with time. She possesses the power to manipulate and control time with the Harp of Ages. Link also acquires the Ocarina of Time as well as learns the Song of Time from Princess Zelda, who holds the Triforce of Wisdom (Nayru's contribution to the Triforce). Zelda is also the first and only person to ever mention the Goddess of Time. Zelda is also closely associated with the ancient Temple of Time, which is the place she very first teaches Link the Song of Time in a vision in Ocarina of Time as well as being the place which she reveals herself as the Leader of the Sages near the end of that game. As such, Nayru is also thought to be closely associated with the Temple of Time as well. Zelda also exhibits the power to manipulate time with the Ocarina of Time.

Farore
The possibility of Farore as the Goddess of Time has also found fan support. It is Link, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage who becomes the Hero of Time, utilizes the Ocarina of Time, and time travels in Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Oracle of Ages. Another incarnation of Link whom also obtained the Triforce of Courage during the events of The Wind Waker performed minimal time manipulations in the sequel Phantom Hourglass. His fairy companion, Ciela, is revealed to be the Spirit of Courage and Time. During the final battle with Bellum, Ciela creates a Phantom Sphere to freeze time for a moment. One last lesser use of a time freeze occurs again by Link in The Legend of Zelda. The contact activated clock seemingly pauses time for enemies on screen. However, Farore has long been associated with the element of wind given the spell named after her in Ocarina of Time was called Farore's Wind, and the possiblity that the Wind Temple was built to honor her.

Fourth Goddess
The Goddess of Time could be yet undisclosed entity to herself, and is none of the Golden Goddesses. As there are more than three deities in The Legend of Zelda series (see the Deities Category), it stands to reason that the Goddess of Time would not necessarily have to be one of the Golden Goddesses, but perhaps a minor deity. Adherents of this belief have well observed smaller details of the games to show how another goddess could exist. The Goddess of Time has only been mentioned by Princess Zelda and the people in Termina, the parallel world to Hyrule. One may even speculate that Terminians may have their own creation myths.

Alternatively, this other goddeess might merely govern time, but was not its creator.

Hylia
Skyward Sword introduces a Goddess character whose name is discovered to be Hylia. In her messages to Link throughout the game, Hylia states that she speaks to Link from a place at the edge of time. Hylia is also assosiated with Time through Zelda, who is Hylia reborn as a mortal. Hylia also charged Impa with the task of entering a Gate of Time to assist Zelda in her quest, however, the goddess has no known time manipulation powers.

Nonexistent
It is also conceivable that the Goddess of Time does not, in fact, exist at all. While seemingly contradicting Zelda and the Terminans' accounts in Majora's Mask, the fact remains that no trace of this goddess is ever shown (the connections to the above candidates notwithstanding), nor can her exact identity and nature be agreed upon. It is also noteworthy that the Gorons of New Hyrule worship a deity they call the Mountain Goddess; like the Goddess of Time, however, she is never mentioned in another game and is never shown, and the eruptions attributed to her are caused by the boss Cragma. This leads some fans to speculate that she may not be real, and as these same characteristics are shown by the Goddess of Time, the same claim can be made. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the Ocarina of Time may be made of Timeshift Stones, which would allow it to transport Link through time without any external intervention. If this is the case, then the role of the Goddess of Time would be rendered obsolete, thus making her already-uncertain existence all the more questionable.

Associations
The Goddess of Time is thought by many gamers to be closely associated with various important people, places and items found throughout the series, many of which include:

Princess Zelda
The Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, is considered to be one of the people associated with the Goddess of Time largely because she is the first to display knowledge of the Goddess's existence as well as her own relations to the element of time. Zelda is the one that teaches Link the Song of Time, the song necessary to call for the Goddess's aid, as well as the one that gives him the Ocarina of Time, the instrument necessary to call upon her. Zelda possesses the Triforce of Wisdom, the piece of the Triforce left behind by Nayru, the one most closely associated with the laws of time out of the three Golden Goddesses. Zelda also exhibits some power over time as well when she displays the ability to send the Hero of Time back to his original time using the Ocarina of Time. It is unknown if this power was granted her by the Goddess of Time in a similar fashion to how Link used the Ocarina of Time to relive his three days in Termina, but it remains a possibility nonetheless. This all remains pure speculation at the present time, but it is very worth noting the many links that can be drawn between Zelda and the Goddess of Time herself.

Temple of Time
As is implied by its name, the Temple of Time is the one location most closely associated with the Goddess of Time, seeing how the temple is dedicated to the element of time which is governed by the Goddess of Time. The Temple of Time is known for its status as the gateway to the Sacred Realm and is closely associated with Princess Zelda, who is seen multiple times within the temple and possesses Nayru's piece of the Triforce, that of the goddess responsible for the laws of time. As it is built for the element of time, the Temple of Time is thought to be dedicated to the Goddess of Time by many gamers.

Trivia
The Goddess of Time is briefly mentioned by the Oracle of Ages Nayru within the Oracle of Ages manga.