Father Time
Scythe-bearing elder
Father Time is the personification of time as an elderly bearded man, typically depicted carrying a scythe and hourglass.
The figure represents time's passage and its inevitable effects—aging, decay, mortality.
Father Time catches up with everyone eventually.
Athletes past their prime are said to have lost their battle with Father Time.
Manual crop-cutting implement
- hourglassGravity-powered sand timer
- old manElderly male person
- beardFacial hair growth
- sandsFine loose granules
robes · wings · clock · New Year's Eve · midnight · countdown · January · December
Year's four divisions
- yearsTwelve-month spans
- centuriesHundred-year periods
- millenniaThousand-year periods
- calendarDate-tracking system
equinox · solstice · New Year · turning · renewal · rebirth · wheel · revolution
Growing older over time
- senescenceGradual functional decline with age
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- witheringDrying and declining
- fleetingPassing very quickly
ephemeral · mortal · lifespan · generations · passing · inevitable · relentless · march
Titan king, time personified
- SaturnRinged gas giant
- TitanMythic giant or moon
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- RomanOf ancient Italy's capital
scythe · harvest · primordial · deity · cosmogony · pantheon · Olympians · mythological
Wisdom keeper or seasoning
- elderSenior figure of authority
- ancientVery old indeed
- knowingPossessing awareness or insight
- patienceCalm during delays
perspective · experience · witness · all-seeing · lessons · memory · history · judgment
scythe
Manual crop-cutting implement
sands · robes · wings · clock · New Year's Eve · midnight · countdown · January · December · Baby New Year
seasons
Year's four divisions
calendar · equinox · solstice · New Year · turning · renewal · rebirth · wheel · revolution · passage
aging
Growing older over time
- senescenceGradual functional decline with age
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- witheringDrying and declining
fleeting · ephemeral · mortal · lifespan · generations · passing · inevitable · relentless · march · toll
Kronos
Titan king, time personified
Roman · scythe · harvest · primordial · deity · cosmogony · pantheon · Olympians · mythological · ancient
sage
Wisdom keeper or seasoning
patience · perspective · experience · witness · all-seeing · lessons · memory · history · judgment · foresight
- personificationsMother Nature, Grim Reaper, Lady Luck, Lady Justice, Lady Liberty
- holiday figuresSanta Claus, Santa, St. Nicholas, Easter Bunny, Frosty
- New Yearball drop, countdown, midnight kiss, champagne toast, New Year's Day
- personificationpersonification, anthropomorphism, talking animals, talking trees, talking toys
- Time Symbolshourglass, clock, sundial, calendar, grandfather clock
- C.S. LewisAslan, Narnia, Narnian, Ransom, Edmund
Father TimeBaby New Year
Symbolic newborn for January
Mother Nature · Mother Earth · Gaia · Persephone · Venus