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Din is one of the three omnipotent Golden Goddesses who created the land of Hyrule (along with parallel realms, such as the Sacred Realm).[3] Din's essence, as well as the essence of her sisters Nayru and Farore, is the source of the Golden Power within the sacred relic, the Triforce.[1][4] Her crest is the Mark of Din.

Before time began, Din, along with Nayru and Farore, descended upon the chaos that was to become the land of Hyrule, each of them creating a different facet of the realm. According to the Great Deku Tree in Ocarina of Time, Din, "with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth."[2] Upon departure, they created the Triforce, the embodiment of the goddesses' divine essence, and left it within the Sacred Realm.[5]

Din's essence is what constitutes the Triforce of Power, which affords Ganon his great power and mystical abilities. To a much smaller extent, Din's power can also be invoked by a powerful sorcerer. Her essence is often represented by fire as exemplified in the magic spell Din's Fire.[6]

Attributes[]

As the Goddess of Power, Din is associated with themes that exemplify power. Most often, she is associated with the elements of fire and earth. She is also associated with mountains, and more specifically volcanoes such as Death Mountain and Eldin Volcano. Through her association with fire and earth, symbols and talismans meant to evoke Din are often colored red.

Of the races of Hyrule, Din's essence is most exemplified by the Goron race. These volcano-dwelling, rock-consuming golems epitomize the essence of Din; in their society, they respect power, moreover, physical strength, as demonstrated in their relentless competition with one another in tests of strength. They are the most physically capable of all the races in Hyrule, boasting superhuman strength, and nigh invulnerability.

Appearances[]

A Link to the Past[]

Although never mentioned in-game, the A Link to the Past manual describes how the three Golden Goddesses descended to the world and created life and order.[7] Din, referred to by the manual as the "God of Power", created all of the land of the world.[8] Despite Din being referred to as a "god" instead of a "goddess" like in later Zelda games, the A Link to the Past/Four Swords manual changed it to a more ambiguous word: "deity."[1] As such, it can be safely assumed that the God of Power described in the manual is Din, the Goddess of Power.

Ocarina of Time[]

In her first in-game appearance in Ocarina of Time, Din is represented as a golden figure surrounded by a reddish aura, and it is also in this game that she is first referred to as the Goddess, not God, of Power.[2] She is first seen when the Great Deku Tree explains to Link the history of Hyrule's creation, which includes a cut-scene of Din soaring along with the other two Golden Goddesses: Nayru and Farore. She is last seen as the three goddesses depart to the heavens and leave the Triforce hidden in the Sacred Realm. Upon finding the Fairy Fountains later in the game, one of the Great Fairies can teach Link the magic spell Din's Fire.

The Wind Waker[]

Din Statue
The Din Statue from The Wind Waker

In The Wind Waker, Din, Nayru, and Farore are mentioned during the introduction of the game as well as when King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule explains the tale of the Great Flood to both Link and Tetra. The three goddesses, after hearing the pleas of the people of Hyrule who were faced by Ganon's onslaught of evil, instructed them to flee to Hyrule's mountaintops in order to escape the apocalypse they were about to unleash upon the land to halt Ganondorf's invasion. It was then that the Golden Goddesses chose to seal away the kingdom of Hyrule by bringing a "torrential downpour of rains from the heavens," leaving the land forgotten beneath the waves.[9][10]

There is also a statue depicting Din's characteristics, which can be found in Northern Triangle Island. The statue of Din appears almost identical to Din, the Oracle of Seasons from Oracle of Seasons.

Twilight Princess[]

During the Light Spirit Lanayru's tale of the Sacred Realm, the history of how the three goddesses created the land of Hyrule is retold, albeit in a more compressed manner.[11] Lanayru goes on to explain how word of the Sacred Realm soon spread throughout Hyrule, causing a great battle and marking the appearance of the Dark Interlopers who excelled at magic.[12] These sorcerers tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm, but it was then that the goddesses, Din included, commanded the three Light Spirits to intervene and seal away the great magic the interlopers had mastered.[13]

Din is also one of the Golden Goddesses depicted in a giant monument that appears in the throne room of Hyrule Castle. Strangely, statues possibly depicting Din (a figure holding a flame or two flames in her palms) show her with a snake around her neck, ready to strike.

Nomenclature[]

Din as a word means "a chaotic and loud noise". The Arabic name Din means "faith" and "religion", while it means "judgement" in Hebrew.[14] Although, the word Dyn means "power", as used in dynasty and dynamite.

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in other regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
LanguageNameMeaning
JapanJapanese力の神 (Chikara no Kami) (ALttP)[15]
ディン (Din) (OoT)[16]
God of Power
FranceFrenchEUDin (OoT3D)[17]
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery[]

See Also[]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Aeons ago, the Deities of Power, Courage, and Wisdom descended to the world of chaos. They created the world that we know and left behind a symbol of their strength, the golden emblem known as the Triforce, which they hid in the Golden Land." (A Link to the Past & Four Swords manual, pg. 14)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Before time began, before spirits and life existed... Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule... Din, the goddess of power... Nayru, the goddess of wisdom... Farore, the goddess of courage...[...] Din... With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth." — Great Deku Tree (Ocarina of Time)
  3. "Din, Nayru, and Farore each left a crest behind." (Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 70)
  4. "After the gods had finished their work, they left the world, but not before creating a symbol of their strength, a golden triangle known as the Triforce. A small but powerful portion of the essence of the gods was held in this mighty artifact, which was to guide the intelligent life on the world of Hyrule." (A Link to the Past manual, pg. 3)
  5. "The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. And, the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm." — Great Deku Tree (Ocarina of Time)
  6. "You got Din's Fire! Its fireball engulfs everything! It's attack magic you can use with (C)." — N/A (Ocarina of Time)
  7. "According to the Hylian scrolls, the mythical gods descended from a distant nebula to the world that was and created order and life." (A Link to the Past manual, pg. 3)
  8. "The God of Power dyed the mountains red with fire and created land." (A Link to the Past manual, pg. 3)
  9. "Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the gods. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate." — N/A (The Wind Waker)
  10. "When the gods heard our pleas, they chose to seal away not only Ganon, but Hyrule itself...and so, with a torrential downpour of rains from the heavens... Our fair kingdom was soon buried beneath the waves, forgotten at the bottom of the ocean. Yet all was not lost. [...] So, before the sealing of the kingdom, the gods chose those who would build a new country and commanded them to take refuge on the mountaintops." — Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule (The Wind Waker)
  11. "When all was chaos, the goddesses descended and gave order and life to the world. They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to the heavens. The lands where the goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm." — Lanayru (Twilight Princess)
  12. "For ages, the people lived at ease, content in mind and body... But soon, word of the Sacred Realm spread through Hyrule, and a great battle ensued... Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared." — Lanayru (Twilight Princess)
  13. "Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm. It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene. We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered." — Lanayru (Twilight Princess)
  14. Given Name DIN, behindthename.com.
  15. A Link to the Past manual, pg. 4
  16. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Shogakukan) pg. 2
  17. "Din, déesse de la force..." — Great Deku Tree (Ocarina of Time 3D)
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