Movie
Description
Saori Kido, also known as Athena, is the reincarnation of the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, who has taken human form to protect the Earth. In the narrative of Tenkai-hen, the direct sequel to the Hades arc, she is the young head of the powerful Graude Foundation and the leader of the Saints.
Her background is defined by a dual identity. As an infant, she was found at the feet of her own statue in the Sanctuary, the headquarters of the Saints in Greece. When the Gemini Gold Saint, Saga, attempted to murder the baby Athena, she was rescued by the Sagittarius Saint Aiolos, who entrusted her to the Japanese tycoon Mitsumasa Kido before dying from his wounds. Kido raised her as his own granddaughter, naming her Saori. Consequently, she grew up unaware of her divine origins, living a life of immense wealth and privilege. Initially, she behaved as a spoiled and capricious child, often mistreating the orphans who would later become her Saints. However, after learning the truth of her heritage upon her grandfather's death, her personality underwent a profound transformation. She renounced her childish egoism and became a humble, compassionate, and resolute leader, fully dedicated to her sacred duty.
At her core, Saori's primary motivation is the protection of humanity. She is willing to endure immense personal suffering and even sacrifice her own life to prevent the world from being harmed by malevolent gods. As the goddess of defensive war and strategy, she seeks peaceful resolutions to conflicts whenever possible, preferring to reason with her divine adversaries before resorting to combat. However, when fighting becomes unavoidable, she demonstrates an unwavering will and a strategic mind, as shown in her complex plan to defeat Hades by infiltrating his realm. In Tenkai-hen, her role evolves as she faces a new kind of threat not from a malevolent god, but from the Olympian order itself. After her Saints and she defeated Hades, the other gods, fearing the power she and her warriors have amassed, decide to intervene. To save humanity from being annihilated by the gods, Athena makes the painful decision to surrender her control over the Earth to her sister, Artemis, accepting a new and humbling role as a mere citizen of the world she once protected.
Her relationships are central to her character. She shares a deep, unspoken bond with the Pegasus Saint, Seiya. She holds special feelings for him, and his unwavering loyalty and willingness to sacrifice himself for her have forged a connection that transcends the typical relationship between a goddess and her subject. The film Tenkai-hen further expands her divine relationships by introducing her siblings: the moon goddess Artemis, who demands Earth's submission, and the sun god Apollo, who serves as the film's primary antagonist. This conflict pits her love for humanity against her own divine family, deepening her role as a protector caught between two worlds.
Throughout the story, Saori exhibits notable development from a sheltered heiress into a self-aware goddess. The trials she faces, from the civil war in the Sanctuary to the battles against Poseidon and Hades, solidify her resolve. Tenkai-hen serves as a crucial moment where her conviction is tested not by evil, but by the laws of the heavens, forcing her to accept a great personal loss to protect those she loves.
As a deity, her notable abilities are vast. While untrained as a warrior in the conventional sense, her Cosmo, the inner energy of the Saints' universe, is immense and surpasses that of most other gods. She can heal grievous wounds and even bring Saints back from the brink of death. A single drop of her divine blood can awaken the latent power within a Saint's Cloth, granting them the potential to manifest a Divine Cloth. Her primary symbolic weapons are the golden staff of Nike, the goddess of victory, which she can use as a weapon, and the Aegis, a shield said to be impervious to any attack. Her most powerful ability, however, is her divine will, which can be used to seal away other gods, as she famously did with Poseidon and Hades.
Her background is defined by a dual identity. As an infant, she was found at the feet of her own statue in the Sanctuary, the headquarters of the Saints in Greece. When the Gemini Gold Saint, Saga, attempted to murder the baby Athena, she was rescued by the Sagittarius Saint Aiolos, who entrusted her to the Japanese tycoon Mitsumasa Kido before dying from his wounds. Kido raised her as his own granddaughter, naming her Saori. Consequently, she grew up unaware of her divine origins, living a life of immense wealth and privilege. Initially, she behaved as a spoiled and capricious child, often mistreating the orphans who would later become her Saints. However, after learning the truth of her heritage upon her grandfather's death, her personality underwent a profound transformation. She renounced her childish egoism and became a humble, compassionate, and resolute leader, fully dedicated to her sacred duty.
At her core, Saori's primary motivation is the protection of humanity. She is willing to endure immense personal suffering and even sacrifice her own life to prevent the world from being harmed by malevolent gods. As the goddess of defensive war and strategy, she seeks peaceful resolutions to conflicts whenever possible, preferring to reason with her divine adversaries before resorting to combat. However, when fighting becomes unavoidable, she demonstrates an unwavering will and a strategic mind, as shown in her complex plan to defeat Hades by infiltrating his realm. In Tenkai-hen, her role evolves as she faces a new kind of threat not from a malevolent god, but from the Olympian order itself. After her Saints and she defeated Hades, the other gods, fearing the power she and her warriors have amassed, decide to intervene. To save humanity from being annihilated by the gods, Athena makes the painful decision to surrender her control over the Earth to her sister, Artemis, accepting a new and humbling role as a mere citizen of the world she once protected.
Her relationships are central to her character. She shares a deep, unspoken bond with the Pegasus Saint, Seiya. She holds special feelings for him, and his unwavering loyalty and willingness to sacrifice himself for her have forged a connection that transcends the typical relationship between a goddess and her subject. The film Tenkai-hen further expands her divine relationships by introducing her siblings: the moon goddess Artemis, who demands Earth's submission, and the sun god Apollo, who serves as the film's primary antagonist. This conflict pits her love for humanity against her own divine family, deepening her role as a protector caught between two worlds.
Throughout the story, Saori exhibits notable development from a sheltered heiress into a self-aware goddess. The trials she faces, from the civil war in the Sanctuary to the battles against Poseidon and Hades, solidify her resolve. Tenkai-hen serves as a crucial moment where her conviction is tested not by evil, but by the laws of the heavens, forcing her to accept a great personal loss to protect those she loves.
As a deity, her notable abilities are vast. While untrained as a warrior in the conventional sense, her Cosmo, the inner energy of the Saints' universe, is immense and surpasses that of most other gods. She can heal grievous wounds and even bring Saints back from the brink of death. A single drop of her divine blood can awaken the latent power within a Saint's Cloth, granting them the potential to manifest a Divine Cloth. Her primary symbolic weapons are the golden staff of Nike, the goddess of victory, which she can use as a weapon, and the Aegis, a shield said to be impervious to any attack. Her most powerful ability, however, is her divine will, which can be used to seal away other gods, as she famously did with Poseidon and Hades.