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to argue that it is more beneficial to be unjust. The unjust are usually wealthier and honored, whereas the just man is miserable. Socrates, who is a character in most of the dialogues written by Plato, rejects this outright and maintains that just people are moral because justice is good for its own sake, not because one would get wealthy or honored.

When we apply these cogent arguments to Ganondorf, we quickly realize that Glaucon’s and Socrates’s arguments both seem to apply to the Gerudo King. Ganondorf has wealth and honor while he is King of Hyrule. However, as Socrates points out, an unjust man is usually alone and morally bankrupt. Ganondorf fits these criteria too. So who is right about justice and consequently, the nature of Ganondorf? Is justice merely a social custom that wouldn’t exist if people didn’t have to worry about punishment? Or would justice persist regardless of society?

When we look at Ganondorf, we can see that Socrates’s argument has more merit than those of Glaucon and Adiemantus. Ganondorf has wealth, but only as a result of his lust for power and possession of the Triforce of Power. He has status, but only through taking Hyrule. He has honor, but only through fear. None of his seemingly advantageous qualities are true and of his own merit, but rather only through possession of the golden triangle.

Socrates would argue that Ganondorf is morally empty because justice isn’t a matter of societal influence, but rather from our soul being in balance. Ganondorf wasn’t in balance in the soul or the heart. This is apparent in the splitting of the Triforce when he touched it midway through Ocarina of Time. He only maintained that part of the Triforce which he truly desired, that of power. Link received the Triforce of Courage and Zelda received the Triforce of Wisdom. Now the question becomes, how should the Triforce be used?

The Doctrine of the Mean

Although it was an inanimate object, the Triforce had the power to bestow three titles which gave the person who received them great powers: “The Forger of Strength,” “The Keeper of Knowledge,” and “The Juror of Courage.”

—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

So it seems that power is not only necessary to the Triforce, but equal to its counterparts—how should one use each of the pieces? Clearly, Link’s and Zelda’s actions seem to set an example. But, how do they use them in a way that is not only productive, but also good? In fact, do we ever really see Link or Zelda use their respective pieces? We only know that they have them from the symbols on their left hands that only appear when close to another piece.

We can take Ganondorf’s use of the Triforce of Power as an example of how not to use a piece of the Triforce. Ganondorf uses the Triforce of Power several times throughout the series and, as you’ll notice, this use is drastically different from Link’s and Zelda’s. Did the goddesses want the pieces of the Triforce to be used at all? Surely the answer is yes, or why leave them to begin with? We know from the first quote of the chapter that the Triforce was meant to “guide intelligent life on the world of Hyrule.” The goddesses wanted the Triforce pieces to be used and they obviously didn’t like the way that Ganondorf was using his part, because they take it from him at the end of Twilight Princess. The intention of the goddesses was for the Triforce to be used in moderation, as Link and Zelda do.

When philosophers study ethics, they ask how one ought to live. What moral guidelines should we follow, if any, in our day to day lives? Some have responded that we should always act in a way that will benefit the highest number of people. Others have responded that we shouldn’t treat people as objects. Some have even argued that there’s no such thing as morality. Aristotle asks us how we can build our character in the best way. Why is Link a good character? Why is Ganondorf such a bad one? It’s by understanding Aristotle that we can determine the true intentions of Din, Nayru, and Farore when leaving behind the Triforce.