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The following list comprises the characters that form the three ranks of the army of the Greek goddess Athena, in the Japanese manga Saint Seiya and the canonical sequel and prequel Saint Seiya Next Dimension, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada.

The Saints (聖闘士（セイント）, Seinto, lit. "Holy Fighter") 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.

The Bronze Saints (青銅聖闘士（ブロンズセイント）, Buronzu Seinto) 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.

The Saints wearing the second-highest ranked Cloths are the Silver Saints (白銀聖闘士（シルバーセイント）, Shirubā Seinto), 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.

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