Athena (Saint Seiya) - Character Outline - Backstory

Backstory

Athena reincarnates on Earth when it is consumed by evil. Unlike the other Greek deities that Masami Kurumada used as antagonists, like Hades or Poseidon, she returns to Earth as herself, without possessing the body of a human. She comes to Earth with her own soul and body, but she usually has no real knowledge of her divine origins or mission until a certain event triggers those memories and reveals her mission and destiny to her.

As Athena returns to Earth, the souls of her eighty-eight Saints also reincarnate to assist and protect her in the fulfilling of her mission when the time is ripe, as Masami Kurumada revealed in the sequel to the original manga Saint Seiya: Next Dimension. Pegasus Seiya's past incarnation has been featured by Kurumada in this story, who in the eighteenth century was known as Tenma.

Masami Kurumada revealed in volume 1 of Saint Seiya that Athena had battled in the age of myth against the Giants, Ares and Poseidon, each in incarnations centuries apart. He also revealed later that she has battled Hades in the age of myth, then in the fifteenth century, eighteenth century and finally in the twentieth century. She battled Poseidon in the twentieth century, 2000 years after their battle in the region of Attica.

In Saint Seiya, Kurumada presented her twentieth century incarnation as one of the main characters. Found as a newborn baby at the foot of Athena's statue in Sanctuary in 1973, her return to Earth was seen as an omen of great battles that lay ahead and was received with joy and preoccupation by Sanctuary. Pope Shion, survivor of the Holy War of the eighteenth century, took care of her until he was murdered by Gemini Saga.

After usurping Shion's title, Saga, afflicted by his evil split personality, schemed to kill Athena, to rule over Earth as a god. The night Saga first attempted to murder Athena, who at the time was around one year old, he entered Athena's chambers disguised as the Pope and tried to stab her with a golden dagger, but was stopped by the Gold Saint Sagittarius Aiolos, the guard in charge that night. In disbelief, Aiolos tried to persuade the Pope to come back to his senses, but failed. In the following struggle, he discovered that the Grand Pope was not Shion, but an impostor. Realizing his plans had been thwarted, Saga attacked Aiolos and Athena and, to avoid being discovered by the rest of Sanctuary, used Aiolos as a scapegoat to cover his deeds; he told everyone that the Sagittarius Saint had tried to murder Athena and that he had to be captured and immediately executed for treason.

Aiolos fled Sanctuary, swearing to protect Athena, even at the cost of his life. Facing overwhelming opposition, Aiolos was not given a chance to explain the truth before he was confronted by Sanctuary soldiers and the mighty Gold Saint Capricorn Shura, his former best friend. Believing Saga's every word, Shura attacked Aiolos without mercy, mortally wounding the Sagittarius Saint. Aiolos was able to escape Sanctuary afterwards, managing to protect Athena and keep her safe. The next day, he found an old man who was visiting Greece as a tourist in the nearby ruins of Athens. That man was Japanese philanthropist and billionaire Mitsumasa Kido, owner of Asia's largest foundation, the Graude Foundation. With his last ounce of strength, Aiolos revealed to Mitsumasa the origins and destiny of the baby he was carrying and entrusted her to him, along with the Sagittarius Gold Cloth. Realizing that he had accomplished his mission and smiling at Mitsumasa's promise to take care of her and raise her until she could fulfill her destiny, Aiolos died in peace.

Mitsumasa took the baby Athena and the Gold Cloth with him back to Japan and adopted her as his granddaughter. Giving her the name Saori Kido, he was able to hide her from Sanctuary for thirteen years, until it was the time for her to fulfill her destiny and overthrow the agents of evil that threatened peace on Earth.