If you haven't figured it out by now, anime's that are near and dear to my heart typically have some form of a normal human to hero transformation. Saint Seiya fits the bill in which I have seen both the 1986 original and the 2018 Netflix adaptation.
Saint Seiya is focused on the impending and constant war between Athena, the Greek Goddess of War, the Daughter of Zeus, and several other Greek Gods of whom are reincarnated to battle and decide the fate of the world once more. Athena, with the help of her most trusted Zodiac Saints, must triumph over evil once more. The most dedicated and powerful Saint is the Pegasus Saint, Seiya from Japan.
The manga creator, Masami Kurumada, is genius for match the historical significance in the series to true greek mythology. Athena is not nearly as nice as she is in the series but, Pegasus, the son of Medusa and Poseidon, is cared for by Athena after Medusa is murdered and she tames him to the point he can be ridden by humans. It is only with the golden bridle of Athena that Pegasus can be tamed for anyone else (i.e.Bellerophon) so the fact that this minor relation between Athena and Pegasus was expanded into a whole series that has over 30 years of fandom is so awesome to me.
As I mentioned, Saint Seiya provided me with an interest in greek mythology but, Athena specifically so I jumped at the opportunity to see her statue in person. Standing at almost 42 feet, words and photos cannot begin to provide the true detail, beauty, awe that comes from seeing Athena in person.
The gold, intricate painting on the inside of the shield, down to the full war graphically etched in her sandals. You have to admire the handy work and time placed into such a magnificent piece. I could have sat there on the floor for an entire day and still not be able to fully take in every detail of that piece.
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