The following list comprises the characters that form the three ranks of the army of the Greek goddess Athena, in the Japanese mangaSaint Seiya and the canonical sequel and prequel Saint Seiya Next Dimension, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. The Saints are the warriors that form Athena's army, clad in special battle armors known as Cloths, who during millennia have battled to protect Athena, love and justice. It is the main warring faction presented by Kurumada in his work. Although the three ranks swore allegiance to Athena, Kurumada presented some of the characters at first in an antagonic role, later revealing their true nature.
Bronze Saints
The are the lowest ranking Saints in Athena's army. As their mastery over the Cosmo essence is at the basic level, the Bronze Saints wield superhuman strength, among other abilities, and a maximum speed of mach 1. Aside from the five protagonist Bronze Saints, Kurumada presents six more in his work, described as follows.
Silver Saints
The Saints wearing the second-highest ranked Cloths are the, the specialists in battle. They possess advanced mastery of Cosmo, which enables them to attain speeds ranging from mach 2 to 5, and also grants them tremendous physical strength. When they receive an assignment from the Sanctuary, they go to any part of the world to fulfill it, whatever the cost, using all their power. They represent the true concept of a Saint of Athena. Another of their responsibilities is to take care of the Cloths that do not have owners. It is common to find Silver Saints training potential candidates to gain one of these Cloths. As many Saints and Cloths were lost in the last Holy War, training new Saints and increasing the ranks are important tasks to be fulfilled before the next Holy War. The Silver Cloths are more beautiful and stronger than Bronze Cloths. They freeze at a temperature of -200 °C. Currently there have only been eighteen Silver Cloths confirmed, however, the Silver Cloths of Orion, Shield and Southern Cross, created by Masami Kurumada for the first Saint Seiya theatrical release, as well as their bearers, are considered canonical. The seventeenth and eighteenth Silver Cloths were revealed in the Saint Seiya Encyclopedia; they represent the constellations of Crateris and Ara, although the latter has never been featured in any arcs of the manga to date. In total there are twenty-four Silver Saints, but only sixteen were revealed by Kurumada in the story arcs of his manga Saint Seiya. Recently, since the start of Saint Seiya Next Dimension, the canonical continuation of Kurumada's original manga, a new Silver Saint was added to the universe, Crateris Suikyō, whose Cloth differs entirely from the one shown in the Saint Seiya Encyclopedia. ;Silver Saints of eras past
The are the most powerful Saints in Athena's Army and personal guard to her, invincible among them since the ages of myth. They wear the 12 Gold Cloths that correspond to the zodiac constellations, the most powerful among the 88 Cloths. The Gold Saints have mastered the seventh sense, the essence of Cosmo, which grants them miraculous abilities, among them, the capacity of attaining the speed of light. In Saint Seiya Next Dimension, it is revealed that there were originally 13 Gold Saints.
