TV-Series
Description
Pope Ares is the name of the papal office in the classic Saint Seiya anime, and it conceals two very different people behind the same identity. The Sanctuary has always been led by a Pope who acts as the human representative of the goddess Athena, and in the anime that office provides the setting for one of the story's major revelations: the man sitting on the papal throne is not who he appears to be.
The real Ares was a Silver Saint who served as the younger brother and disciple of Pope Shion of Aries. Because Shion was extremely old and in poor health, Ares became his closest assistant and personal double, carrying out many of the daily duties of the papacy and standing in for the Pope when necessary. Although his rank as a Silver Saint placed him below the Gold Saints, he possessed considerable strength, enough to briefly hold his own even against the light-speed punches of Saga of Gemini, and his sincere and honest character earned him the respect and trust of the Saints throughout the Sanctuary.
That trust was what made him vulnerable. Thirteen years before the main events of the story, Saga, consumed by his evil personality, murdered Ares and took his place. Operating under the stolen name of Pope Ares, Saga attempted to kill the infant Athena, and when that failed he tightened his grip on the Sanctuary itself. As the false Pope, he forced the Saints to swear obedience, punished those who refused, and used intimidation and covert agents to pressure other lands into submission. More than a decade later he announced that the Pope had died of illness and formally continued his rule under the same name, so that the Sanctuary he controlled believed its leader was still the respected Ares.
The deception is uncovered during the Sanctuary arc, when the Silver Saint Marin discovers the real Ares's body at Star Hill and realizes that the man on the papal throne is not the original Pope. That revelation strips away the false identity and sets the stage for the confrontation between the Bronze Saints and the impostor, who is eventually exposed as Saga.
In terms of personality, the real Ares was defined by loyalty, diligence, and trustworthiness, serving the aging Pope without seeking power for himself. The public image of Pope Ares, by contrast, was the mask worn by Saga, whose motivations were ambition and a desire to rule, and whose rule grew increasingly ruthless and tyrannical once the mask was in place.
The character's name invites comparison with Ares, the Greek god of war and brother of Eris, and later spinoff works make that mythological connection explicit, linking Saga's evil side to the god. In the anime itself, however, Pope Ares is a human figure with no divine nature. The name is sometimes rendered as Arles, and the resemblance to the god's name has fueled confusion about whether the pope is the war god himself, but the anime presents him as an ordinary Saint whose identity was stolen.
Notable abilities associated with Pope Ares therefore belong to two people. The original Ares was a powerful Silver Saint capable of resisting a Gold Saint's light-speed blows for a time. The impostor who used his name wielded far greater power, including the combat techniques of a Gold Saint and the authority that came with posing as Athena's representative on Earth.
The real Ares was a Silver Saint who served as the younger brother and disciple of Pope Shion of Aries. Because Shion was extremely old and in poor health, Ares became his closest assistant and personal double, carrying out many of the daily duties of the papacy and standing in for the Pope when necessary. Although his rank as a Silver Saint placed him below the Gold Saints, he possessed considerable strength, enough to briefly hold his own even against the light-speed punches of Saga of Gemini, and his sincere and honest character earned him the respect and trust of the Saints throughout the Sanctuary.
That trust was what made him vulnerable. Thirteen years before the main events of the story, Saga, consumed by his evil personality, murdered Ares and took his place. Operating under the stolen name of Pope Ares, Saga attempted to kill the infant Athena, and when that failed he tightened his grip on the Sanctuary itself. As the false Pope, he forced the Saints to swear obedience, punished those who refused, and used intimidation and covert agents to pressure other lands into submission. More than a decade later he announced that the Pope had died of illness and formally continued his rule under the same name, so that the Sanctuary he controlled believed its leader was still the respected Ares.
The deception is uncovered during the Sanctuary arc, when the Silver Saint Marin discovers the real Ares's body at Star Hill and realizes that the man on the papal throne is not the original Pope. That revelation strips away the false identity and sets the stage for the confrontation between the Bronze Saints and the impostor, who is eventually exposed as Saga.
In terms of personality, the real Ares was defined by loyalty, diligence, and trustworthiness, serving the aging Pope without seeking power for himself. The public image of Pope Ares, by contrast, was the mask worn by Saga, whose motivations were ambition and a desire to rule, and whose rule grew increasingly ruthless and tyrannical once the mask was in place.
The character's name invites comparison with Ares, the Greek god of war and brother of Eris, and later spinoff works make that mythological connection explicit, linking Saga's evil side to the god. In the anime itself, however, Pope Ares is a human figure with no divine nature. The name is sometimes rendered as Arles, and the resemblance to the god's name has fueled confusion about whether the pope is the war god himself, but the anime presents him as an ordinary Saint whose identity was stolen.
Notable abilities associated with Pope Ares therefore belong to two people. The original Ares was a powerful Silver Saint capable of resisting a Gold Saint's light-speed blows for a time. The impostor who used his name wielded far greater power, including the combat techniques of a Gold Saint and the authority that came with posing as Athena's representative on Earth.