Arles serves as Pope of Athena's Sanctuary and stands as the primary antagonist through the series' early story arcs.
About thirteen years before the main events of Saint Seiya, Pope Arles attempted to assassinate the infant Athena with a golden dagger. Sagittarius Aiolos intervened and stopped him, but during their confrontation, Aiolos was forced to flee the Sanctuary. He entrusted both Athena and the Sagittarius Gold Cloth to Mitsumasa Kido's care before escaping.
When Arles learned that a Galaxian Wars tournament was being held among Bronze Saints—and that the real Athena possessed the Sagittarius Gold Cloth—he dispatched Silver Saints to eliminate the Bronze Saints. The plan backfired. Rather than prove their rank superiority as intended, the Silver Saints were systematically defeated by their Bronze-ranked opponents.
The Twelve Temple arc:
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