God Robes

The God Robes (ゴッドローブ) are the armor of the legendary warriors of Odin, the God Warriors (ゴッドウォーリアー), protectors of the sacred land of Asgard (アスガルド) and its High Priestess. They appear in the anime-only Asgard chapter, which was released between the Sanctuary and the Poseidon arcs.

History
There is little information available on the history of the God Robes, but they are most likely ancient as they are said to have slept hidden for thousands of years prior to the events of the Asgard arc. It is however interesting to note that the Siegfried of legends, ancestor of the current God Warrior, did not wear a God Robe when he defeated the dragon Fafnir during the Age of Myth. One could therefore conclude that the Robes were crafted sometime after that, maybe during the Age of Men. Who created them also remains a mystery.

Awakening
Hilda, High Priestess of Odin manipulated by Poseidon with the Ring of the Nibelungen, awakened the God Robes through the power of Polaris, the North Star. It appears the Robes themselves called forth their bearer, with Hilda doing little more than acknowledging the bound between armor and warrior.

The similarity between some of the God Warriors’ personal story and the myth their Robe symbolizes is intriguing to say the least. It is however impossible to say if it was the life they lead that caused the pairing, with Fenrir receiving the Epsilon Robe because he had been raised by wolves; or if they had been destined by birth for a particular Robe which in return influenced their life, with Mimé finding solace as a child in his harp for example.

Armor Traits
From a design standpoint, they exhibit a great variety of details and colors, but are fairly similar in terms of overall components and provide coverage just below that of a Gold Cloth. Four of them are clearly based on creatures of the Norse mythology (Siegfried/Fafnir, Hagen/Sleipnir, Thor/Jormungand and Fenrir with the wolf of the same name). The saber-tooth tiger (Smilodon) of Syd’s Robe does not appear in Northern myths but the fact that the creatures lived during the last ice age may have been enough to link it to the frozen wastelands of the North. Alberich’s Robe in its object form, a demon surrounded by crystal-like gems, may have been inspired by Wagner’s opera Der Ring des Nibelungen, in which Alberich, king of the Dwarves is the guardian of the Nibelungen’s treasure. And although the harp was a common enough instrument in Norse legends, Mimé’s Robe is a somewhat asymmetrical variation of Lyra Orpheus’ Cloth in the first Saint Seiya movie.

All seven God Robes seem to be equal in terms of strength, without any clear indication of rank among them. The fact that they withstood the attacks of the Saints, who were all in possession of the seventh sense, without major damage would indicate a resistance far superior to that of a Silver Cloth. Seiya was however able to punch through Siegfried’s chest protection so the God Robes may still be inferior to the Gold Cloths. They also do not appear to have any particular properties, beyond the acid stored in the gauntlets of Alberich’s Delta Robe. Finally, there is no indication of what materials may have been used in their construction, or if they can, just like the Cloths, heal themselves. They seem to be devoid of Pandora Boxes and were stored in object form at various locations throughout Asgard.

Bud, Syd’s twin who was abandoned shortly after birth, wears a replica of his brother’s armor but in a white color scheme, when the God Robe of Zeta is almost pure black. Bud’s armor however is not considered a God Robe. Although part of Ursa Major and appearing to be a twin of Zeta, the Alcor star does not belong to the Big Dipper. Devoid of his own Odin Sapphire, Syd had intended to steal his brother’s in order to become a legitimate God Warrior.

The Odin Sapphires
Each of the seven God Robe is linked to a star of the Big Dipper, a widely recognized asterism with connections to numerous cultures, which is part of Ursa Major, the constellation of the Great Bear. They are adorned with a single blue gem, called Odin Sapphire (オーディーンサファイア). All seven stones must be set in place on the crown of Odin’s monumental statue in order to bring forth Odin’s Robe (オーディーンローブ) and the legendary sword it contains: Balmung (バルムング). The death of the bearer automatically frees the Odin Sapphire from the God Robe, but Siegfried showed that it can also be voluntarily removed when he gave his to Seiya before facing Sorrento. The gems do not confer any special power to either the Robe or the Warrior, as demonstrated by Syd, who was able to perform at the same level as the official God Warriors without one.