The Existence of a Fourth Goddess

[castigear]

A few points:

1. It wouldn't really make aesthetic sense for there to be a fourth main deity representing a fourth, evil triforce. Typically in mythology there are three ways of doing it: Gods who are above the concept of good and evil, a yin yang concept with a good and evil deity of equal power, or a supreme benevolent being with no clear equal. Three benevolent gods and one evil just doesn't make sense to me.

2. What DOES make sense to me is this concept...the three goddesses are above the concepts of good and evil, but their direct offspring (Hylia and Demise) DO represent those concepts in the world of men. In order to keep the world in balance, Hylia was left here to guard the triforce, and Demise was left here to balance Hylia, in a very nature/balance/create the world in perfect harmony kind of way. It would also explain why the goddesses grant any wish...I prefer the idea that they really don't care what wish they grant, over the idea that they are bound to the triforce's commands.

3. Don't let the fact that SS calls Demise a demon lead you to believe he isn't a god on the level of at least Hylia. Keep in mind that in Japanese culture (you know, the people who wrote this) a demon is just a common name for an evil kami, or deity. In Shinto, Gods and Demons are two sides of the same coin, just like Hylia and Demise.

 

[VitaTempusN92]

Maybe the fourth goddess is related to Hylia somehow, explaining why the Triforce was left under her responsibility in the first place, perhaps maybe she had an older sister or her mother was the fourth goddess. When I found out about Hylia, I always thought she was connected to the whole fourth goddess and fourth Triforce thing. I also believe the fourth Triforce may have been what is called the "Triforce of Heart" which balances between light and darkness, good and evil, perhaps maybe being the reason why it was separated from the other three Triforces. Maybe the fourth Triforce piece was too powerful for any mortal to bear.

 

[castigear]

Not a bad idea. Another possibility is simply that the void in the middle of the Triforce represents a fourth god/goddess, one who was left out of the creation of the world or was abandoned here (the old stories always said that the Triforce was what remained at the point where the goddesses left our world) so that there never was a piece created for that deity.

 

[onebizarrekai]

I know this thread is old, but I honestly believe that there is a fourth goddess, but in another way.

I think that Hylia IS the fourth goddess, however, she is on a different level than the main three. I picture her as the goddess above them all, which is why the ancient people of Skyward Sword honored her, but as centuries passed, the people slowly forgot about her, because that happens. I don't think that she represents a fourth piece of the Triforce. To put this simply, I see her as the 'supreme goddess' over everything. They do explain that Hylia was born into the world as Zelda, but naturally, she would die eventually and reclaim her spot as the goddess.

This 'theory' kind of has a lot of holes in it, but it's what I think, so…

 

[ganonlink1991]

Or there is a fourth goddess, or Din is crazy, because everything evil comes from her creation, she is mentioned as the creator of the earth, evil came from the earth, the Gerudo's worship the Goddess of the Desert, which is Din, the triforce of power, which represents Din, is always going to Ganondorf no matter what, so... either she's in charge of giving balance to the world or she's bipolar

 

[Farore's Chosen]

Well there are Hylia and the unnamed Goddess of the Spirit Temple, there's also the Fierce Deity. It would make sense that like our own religions there are other deities both "Greater" and "Lesser"

 

[Beauts]

This is a really well thought out theory and well done. I personally subscribe to the tetraforce in some sense or another, though not necessarily that there was an evil goddess but an absence of one (maybe one which was transcendent or had no interest, alternatively. If there is good, the fourth piece can represent the absence of good or the absence of existence. Each piece represents courage, wisdom, power. The fourth could easily be spirit or soul or something like that, which has no corresponding element or substance; so in my eyes, that would be the sort of human element of the Triforce, not a godly one), which for me is what makes this theory fall apart a bit.
My personal explanation for the fact there are four Links and one is purple encompasses the theory I explained briefly above. There had to be a fourth that had power and element outside of the Triforce in order to defeat the evil in the FS games. I should add I've not played the Four Swords games, either of them, so I can't talk in as much depth there. But the same can be applied to other Zelda games (barring SS) if you accept my theory, such as Ocarina of Time, to take a well-known example. Link never gets the whole Triforce, but saves Hyrule all the same. In almost every Zelda game, you're fighting to protect the Triforce, not using it. That to me is human, protecting inhuman powers that most people couldn't handle other than the Goddess' Chosen Hero. Humanity itself is nurturing at it's core. I don't think that's represented by a fourth goddess, in other words. The life left behind when the Goddesses created Hyrule existed outside of the Triforce, after all.

 

[shake]

I do not have any idea who this goddess may or may not be. And Demise could not have created the monsters, he is the Demon King. The word king does not imply he created the monsters. Even kings must have a god in Zelda lore. I dont believe it once mentions him being a god. He is powerful, yes, but clearly not a divine entity.

I know it's not from Zelda, but Lordgenome(Gurren Lagann)- formerly known as The Spiral King, and he created the beastmen.

 

[Jirohnagi]

I know it's not from Zelda, but Lordgenome(Gurren Lagann)- formerly known as The Spiral King, and he created the beastmen.

This isn't amateur hour. Come back with proof. If you know it's not from Zelda then don't post it.

 

[shake]

This isn't amateur hour. Come back with proof. If you know it's not from Zelda then don't post it.

 

[Jirohnagi]

Wow well done lil troll do you want yo troll food? cuz you look like a noob with this crud go back to ZU.

 

[Dio]

I do not have any idea who this goddess may or may not be. And Demise could not have created the monsters, he is the Demon King. The word king does not imply he created the monsters. Even kings must have a god in Zelda lore. I dont believe it once mentions him being a god. He is powerful, yes, but clearly not a divine entity.

Demise is the source of all monsters, this is stated by FI. Daimaō is the japanese title given to Demise, it means great demon king, it's the most powerful demon and is basically an evil god.
Demise conquered time and had Hylia beaten to the point that she had to send the triforce and the humans skyward and took upon a human form herself just so she could seal Demise. He obviously had greater power than she did.

As for the existence of a fourth goddess, I believe Hylia is that Goddess.

 

[shake]

Wow well done lil troll do you want yo troll food? cuz you look like a noob with this crud go back to ZU.

Wow well done lil troll do you want yo troll food? cuz you look like a noob with this crud go back to ZU.

What is ZU?

 

[Retro Ganon]

This is a very old argument. A lot of people here have given it good thought, here is my two cents.

I think the whole fourth goddess and tetra-force concept was recognized by Nintendo through introducing Hylia in SS. I would even go so far as to say the Desert Colossus and Arbiter's Grounds paid tribute to her idea beyond fan made theories. Many people have theorized what the forth triangle on OoT Hylian shield meant... and now that we know the Royal Family's crest is a conjecture of the Goddess's symbol and the Triforce, I figured the additional upside down Triforce was suppose to be a golden force gem. The implementation of Force Gems was going strong around TMC's development, a theme not exclusive to the FSS thanks to ST. And since TMC and FS chronologically comes before OoT, in theory, this could be a representation added by the Hylians to symbolize the Light Force inherited through the Royal Family's princesses - the force which hones Hylia's power.

The only other evidence I have to back this concerns the upside down triangles outlined on the guardians watchers of the Silent Realm, denizens which were no doubt put their by Hylia herself.

 

[BLIXER]

Okay, I have like a load of theories on this, one is that the 4th piece, is the light force, from Minish cap, if you notice on the start when it talks about the hero, it has something that looks like a triforce piece but, this is the Light Force, and the light force could be the 4th piece.
My second theory is that, Bellum could have created the fourth piece, the creature comes the same place as the, lord of the oceans the ocean king comes from, another realm bellum could be the evil god, because it brought monsters to the land.
My final theory is looking 100 years after phantom hour glass, spirit tracks, Malladus. He and the spirits had a battle and traped Malladus under the tower of spirit's, notice at the top it has an upside down triangle, that could be the 4th piece either made by the sages or Malladus him self, he not only almost overpower the gods but controlled Cole and Bryn into doing his bidding and took over Zelda's body but also got loose from the prison he was kept in.