Concept, Ideals, "Death", Adaption, Relationship
I will be talking about Athena’s concept and relationship with humanity, and how she is a bit different from the other gods. A lot of these are taken from many different Saint Seiya series. I am not an expert in them since finding translations is hard, but I try my best to make sense and combine theories.
In Saint Seiya, gods are not only just overpowered beings but also very important to the universe’s balance and existence. We already seen some examples. When Saori killed Hades in his true body, the underworld collapse and souls have nowhere to go. Or in Episode G Assassin when baby Athena was assassinated by Aiolos, the world turn into a lost world. Or in Aries Avenir’s timeline, it was stated that Athena was slain and humanity was destroyed. Without Athena’s protection, humanity was defenceless (yes there are saints) but without Athena, that world was in a bad shape and most of humanity died. So while there are so many evil gods, the only reason Athena hasn’t permanently kill any god (except for Hades in Classic) is because she knows of the consequences that can happen and prefer to seal them away. (Plus I do know that killing a god is hard, and Athena is too nice)
Also, I do notice that gods in Saint Seiya don’t and can’t really die. Even when Athena was killed in Episode G Assassin, she didn't die but only got split into Tomoe and Yoshino. In Episode G Requiem when Athena died again out of sadness, she didn't die but got reincarnated again as a baby. Or even when Hades was killed by Athena in the classic, he still appeared in Rerise of Poseidon as a soul/spirit but extremely weakened to tell Poseidon about Nemesis' invasion. And while it isn't stated, I believe in Episode G Requiem, Shun has Hades power to anchor the world from dying so perhaps without his true body, Hades went back to Shun's body to help? But interestingly enough, the dreams god were definitely killed and never appeared again. So it could be maybe killing a god won't kill a god unless you killed their soul (since I think the dream gods are the only ones to die because they got their souls attacked compared to other gods and even when Hades “died”, his soul was the only thing left and weakened.) Either that or that Hades and Athena are too powerful and important to be killed off unlike the dream gods who are minor gods. Either way, interesting to note. But whether you are able to kill a god or not, the idea of already killing a god like Hades or Athena shows that it is a very bad idea to do so even if they are not "dead".
So let's talk about concepts and domains and how she is a bit different from the other gods. There are titles like god of underworld, god of oceans, goddess of wisdom and war, etc. But those are only titles, if you look deeper into a god’s concept like Hades would be the concept of the end, Poseidon the concept of authority over oceans. Each concept also tied to their domain. Like how Hades's domain is the Underworld, he created the underworld with his cosmos to provide a place where souls can go to after death. Poseidon's domain is the ocean. Do note that Poseidon and Athena is a bit different. It is Pontus (stated in Saint Seiya Episode G) who created the oceans not Poseidon but Poseidon still have control/authority over the oceans. If Poseidon were to ever "die", I can imagine the oceans wouldn't disappear (unlike how Hades' underworld disappear after he "died") but the ocean would maybe go wild and out of control. For Athena, I would say her concept is civilization/humanity, which fits perfectly for her.
She protects civilization, guides heroes, and allows humans to grow, adapt, and love. Humans need other humans and love to grow and thrive. Civilization can only form if groups of humans love each other, grow and adapt through hardships. Her agape love is the same as human love. Yes, I know people like to often talk about how selfish humans are but don’t forget, without love, humans won’t be able to connect and grow, love is a very important key to humanity. And we seen what happen when Athena "died", humanity is defenceless as civilization collapse and humanity died out. After all, Athena's core personality is agape, empathy, mercy and self sacrifice.
Zeus gave her the Earth to rule so her domain is the Earth. But as shown in Saint Seiya Episode G Assassin, when she "died", the Earth didn't disappear since she did not create the Earth and the humans didn't disappear because she didn't create humans but it became a lost world because as the concept of civilization, without her to protect the humans, they quickly died off (since they were defenceless and civilization collapse) and became endangered as Aiolia and another civilian girl was the only ones remaining on that world. Humanity/civilization survival strongly ties to Athena's life.
Lets talk about ideals and how it is connect to their concepts/domains/titles. Humans are very flexible but gods are not, gods are very difficult to change. In Saint Seiya Dark Wing, it states that the gods are so attached to their own ideals and ways to rule the Earth, they will always be at conflict against each other and the Holy Wars will always happen over and over again with no solution. Their ideal is connect to the god's concept and who they are as a god. Athena will always believe in allowing humanity to thrive, Poseidon will always believe the earth must be cleansed by flooding it, Hades will always believe all humanity must die, etc.
Even Athena is also stuck in her concept and ideals, you see that in every one of her reincarnation no matter what kind of life experiences she has, she will always love humanity. But what makes her different is that she is like the humans she grew up with. Since gods are immortal, they can reincarnate and come back as themselves if they were killed normally. Due to this reason, they don't learn anything new, don't see different perspectives, and don't grow or change. Athena is special because she chose to reincarnate as a human, which is very fitting with her concept of humanity/civilization, and this ties to human potential and adaptation/growth. Humans are always good at adapting to situations to grow and overcome. It is the same with Athena! Because she lived as a human every single time and her life is different every single time, from rich to poor to working, different lives, different experiences, she can learn from the different experiences and grow from them. Because she is constantly changing and adapting, you even see that each Athena’s fighting and leadership style is different based on the experiences they learn. Saori and Sasha are the same person but how they lead and fight are very different.
Going back to how even someone like Athena, who is strongly attached to her ideals and concept, it even shows in Tomoe (Saint Seiya Episode G Assassin), who is Chaos Athena. Even someone like her who is "evil Athena", is still strongly attached to her love for humanity. Even though Aiolos betrayed her and killed her when she was a baby, she forgave Aiolos and accepted him as her anti-pope, she understood his pain and that it was a misunderstanding. Even after everything, she desperately wants to save humanity in her lost world, even if it means destroying another world. It shows even an "evil" Athena is still attached to her ideals and concept, except it has been twisted.
Next, is her motto! As shown in Lost Canvas, Sasha once said to Aspros and Alone:
"It is true you chose yourself to commit many of your crimes. Obviously, it goes without saying that I cannot understand someone like you who chose to walk down such a path. But at the same time, seeing you now, you don't look solely like an evil being to me! You are neither good or evil. You are just a single human who lived his life to its full extent, are you not? And then even I can understand." To Aspros
""Light" humans and "dark" humans do not exist, Aspros. All people who live desperately are the same. Therefore, sin and sadness cannot be allowed to destroy people, brother Alone!" (When she said light and dark, she means good and evil.) To Aspros and Alone
In Classic, Saori said to Hades:
"Do you know what love is, Hades? Perhaps to a god the existence of humans is stupid... but all of them, without exception, are capable of love! Love makes them sensitive beings! Love makes them stronger and more indestructible than you can imagine!! However powerful a god you may be, your ignorance of love and strength disqualifies you from judging them."
Her motto is the opposite of Hades. Hades, the ruler of the underworld, who judges souls, only sees the sins of humanity. His lack of understanding love blinded him from seeing the big picture. He sees that love is the source of all of humanity's sins.
While I am sure many fans like to complain about how Athena is too kind, too forgiving, and too naive, that is untrue. Athena shows true wisdom in understanding humanity. Even humans go around seeing or saying this person is evil, this person is good but Athena doesn't see that. All humans start out as good (I mean, nobody looks at a baby and says this baby is evil). Through life, humans grow and suffer through experiences, suffering, and love. Love, suffering, despair, obstacles/hardships, that is what shapes humans, and also is what pushes people to make certain decisions. Free will also allows that too. But sometimes, people do evil things out of desperation and love. No human is a monster; everyone is a human who has either done good or bad things because of love, desperation, sadness or suffering. They tried their best in what they think is best in their situation. It might not be best for a different person, but it was the best for that one person who is in that situation.
What is interesting is with Aspros. Unlike most characters, he doesn't regret what he did, he said so himself, he has no regret. But Athena doesn't forgive him, she only acknowledges that while she doesn't understand his situation or why he did the evil things, she understands that Aspros did those actions because of his circumstances. That was what earned Aspros' respect for Athena. If she were a naive girl who just forgave him because she thinks he is a good person deep down, Aspros would have laughed in her face and said she was a naive god. But she never said any of that; she understood the kind of person he was, even if she barely knew anything about him. It was her wisdom that allowed her to understand. To her, there is no such thing as a good or evil human, she doesn't discriminate between different humans, she chooses to love all humans both their perfections and imperfections. That shows her agape love. If you were to love humans, you need to love both their good and bad, have the wisdom to understand, and not discriminate between the "good" and "evil" humans. Make no mistake, this doesn't mean she forgives humans who did harm and evil; it only shows she has the wisdom to understand, and that she will still stop the person, just like how she is still willing to stop and fight Hades, his specters, Poseidon, the marinas, etc. If the person realizes their mistake and is willing to come back to the right path, she will forgive them, like Kanon, etc.
Not just Aspros, it goes for any human in the whole Saint Seiya series. Fans often talk about how Saint Seiya is too clearly black and white and there is no moral grey. But if you dig deeper, almost every evil villain has a reason why they are evil, they all think they are doing good, and they all have their own ideals that they believe are right. Most human villains became evil due to their own twisted understanding of love and their own ideals that they believe are right. Even someone like Hades, who doesn't understand love, has his own ideals that he believes are right because of his own circumstances and perspective. No villain in Saint Seiya are jerks villains that you are like wow this enemy is so evil and a jerk that I wish they died. Also make no mistake, that doesn't mean these villains are nice either, they are not nice and you don't ally with them.
Moving to Relationship with Humanity! In most situations, many would think the god is powerful and distant, the follower is weak, the follower prays and relies on the god to help them become stronger. If the god ever grows tired or no longer needs the human, they can cast them aside. It is a one side relationship where the humans need the god and the god doesn’t need them. But the relationship between Athena and humanity is different. The relationship is equal; it is a mutual bond. Athena needs the saints as much as the saints need Athena. Athena isn’t distant as she grew up with humans, and she is definitely not powerful. You've seen Saori, who often needs saving, or even Sasha, who has better fighting experience, but still needs saving too. It shows that a god can be weak and strong at the same time. Athena needs her saints so you never worry about her betraying them or casting them aside. The saints need Athena because she guides them and helps them become stronger. That is her job as the patron of heroes. It is different from other gods like Hades and Poseidon, sure, they never outright betray their followers, but they also don't need or depend/rely on their followers (even if their followers do all the work and they are kind of lazy haha), but it is a very different relationship between Athena and the saints.
