Temple of Time

Temple of Time
Type	Temple
Location	Hyrule
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Temple of Time is a cathedral-like structure that was originally featured in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Versions of this temple have since appeared in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.

Information

Ocarina of Time

The Temple of Time was originally constructed in Hyrule Castle Town by the ancient sages as a way to conceal the entrance to the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. It consisted of one large hall with another room in the back. A variety of failsafes were built into the temple in order to protect the Triforce from evil hands. The most obvious was the Door of Time, which blocked off the back room. An altar called the Altar of Time had to be filled with three Spiritual Stones (which were each given to one of Hyrule's races), and at that point the Door would open only when the Song of Time was played using the Ocarina of Time. The Ocarina and the knowledge of the Song of Time were kept within the Royal Family so that the Door would only be opened with the consent of the royalty as well as the three great races. After the Door of Time was opened, there was still one more obstacle which seemed to be unknown to most of the others. The Master Sword was kept in the back room, and it had to be successfully drawn from the Pedestal of Time to open the portal to the Sacred Realm. This ensured that only those worthy of being heroes could actually enter the Sacred Realm.

The secrets of the Temple of Time were obscure to most of Hyrule, although during Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf became aware of it and began aggressively pursuing everything he needed to open the Door of Time. Princess Zelda, suspecting his intentions, worked with Link in an attempt to beat Ganondorf to the Sacred Realm. Link was able to gather the Spiritual Stones and after receiving the Ocarina as well as the Song of Time from Zelda, he was able to open the Door of Time. He also successfully drew the Master Sword, but Ganondorf used this opportunity to enter the portal instead. Link was put into a slumber for seven years within the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm, and he was returned to the Temple of Time once he was the right age to be the Hero of Time. Link was later able to travel through time, as returning the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time would send Link back seven years, while pulling it out again would return him to the future. The Prelude of Light was the warp song used to teleport Link back to the Temple of Time. It was within this temple that Link first met Sheik, and it is also where Sheik revealed herself to be Princess Zelda and was promptly kidnapped by Ganondorf.

At the end of the game, Link was sent back in time to his childhood. It is uncertain exactly at what point he was sent back, but the Door of Time was open and the Pedestal was empty. Link returned the Master Sword to the Pedestal, which apparently cut off the connection between the two timelines.

Twilight Princess

Within Twilight Princess, the Temple of Time was inexplicably located within the Sacred Grove near Faron Forest. The temple had fallen into disrepair and was reduced to ruins. It was guarded by a pair of guardian statues who subjected anyone who approached to a test. The Master Sword was located in the same area, except that the walls around it had deteriorated to the point where it was surrounded by more of the forest than the temple itself (referencing the Master Sword's location in A Link to the Past). Link initially traveled there in wolf form, and drawing the Master Sword cured his curse so that he could return to his normal form.

More layers to the Temple were revealed when Link returned there. Briefly tipping the Master Sword back into the pedestal would cause one large statue to move and opened a large door at the front of the ruins. This door led through a portal into a different version of the Temple of Time which was nearly identical to its appearance from Ocarina of Time, although the Altar and Door of Time were gone. The Pedestal of Time was also empty, and tipping the Master Sword there made a golden staircase appear that led to another entrance concealed behind a stain glass window. This contained the dungeon version of the Temple of Time, which was clockwork-themed and contained various other statues. Even though this area appeared to be closed off from the outside world, it contained outside technology, specifically the Dominion Rod that was made by the sky civilization. One shard of the Mirror of Twilight also wound up hear after Zant shattered it. The boss of the area was Armogohma.

Skyward Sword

In Skyward Sword, the Temple of Time was a structure located deep within the Lanayru Desert. It did appear to actually be a different temple than the other versions, as it was an open courtyard with a statue of the Triforce mark above it. The reason for its namesake seemed to be the Gate of Time which it housed, which acted as a link to the distant past. Although the temple was purely exterior, it connected to the Lanayru Mining Facility through a subterranean corridor.

During the game's events, Zelda came to the Temple with Impa to use the Gate of Time, as it was the only active one. The entrance was blocked by rubble when Link arrived, which forced him to come around through the Mining Facility. Ghirahim also arrived at the temple to attack Zelda and Impa. The two were still able to pass through the Gate, and Impa destroyed the Gate of Time as she passed through it. The only other Gate was at the Sealed Temple.

Breath of the Wild

In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Temple of Time was a dilapidated structure located on the Great Plateau that was in the process of being reclaimed by nature. It contained the first Goddess Statue that Link could encounter, and it was there that Rhoam told him about Hyrule's past and Link's missing memories.

Trivia

• Out of all the temples, the Temple of Time is the only one that could pass as a "normal" temple, only while discounting the dungeon part shown in Twilight Princess.
• The Hyrule Historia has confirmed that the Temple of Time in Skyward Sword is a different structure that only shares the name. It also implies that the Ocarina Temple of Time was built where Skyward Sword's Sealed Temple was located [1]. The Sealed Temple notably has a similar structure to the Temple of Time, is also connected with time travel and winds up holding the Master Sword at the end of the game. This makes it possible that the Master Sword remained in place when the Temple of Time was built.
• The Temple of Time's connections to the Temple of Light suggest that the latter location is the Sacred Realm counterpart to the Temple of Time, although this is never clearly clarified. Twilight Princess did add more evidence, as tiles depicting the Light Medallion were found in the dungeon area of the temple.
• There is also vagueness surrounding the other version of the Temple of Time seen in Twilight Princess, such as whether it is in the past (which is made less likely due to the Mirror Shard being found there) or if it is located in the Sacred Realm (which conflicts with the implied connection to the Temple of Light unless the two are actually one in the same).