Libra Cloth

The Libra Cloth is the cloth of the Saint Dohko in Saint Seiya, Episode G, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, and Saint Seiya: Next Dimension. Shiryu also briefly donned the Libra Cloth during the fights with Poseidon, Thanatos and Saint Seiya Omega. It is of the highest class of the cloths that Athena's Saints wield, the Gold Cloths.

True Justice
The Libra constellation was based on the Scales carried by the Goddess of Justice and Purity, Astræa. When she ascended to the Heavens, and became a constellation, her scales became the nearby constellation Libra. The constellation could be used to symbolize the balance of good and evil, or the weighing of both sides of the argument in a trial, to see which one holds true.

The constellation also has a connection to Egyptian mythology, as it symbolized a special scale found in the Underworld; when a person died, they had to journey until they came to a special hall for judgment. The dead person's heart was set on one plate of a scale, while a feather, the Feather of Truth, was placed on the other. If the heart proved lighter than the feather, the soul was deemed worthy to travel on to the utopian Underworld. If not, it was devoured by a monster and the soul ceased to exist.

Ancient Saint
Dohko trained to be a Saint in Mt. Goroho (China), centuries before the birth of the modern Athena, by an unknown master. The cloth was likely kept in Sanctuary until a Saint worthy of wearing it was found. During The Lost Canvas and Next Dimension, Dohko was the Saint who received the Libra Gold Cloth. Libra first appeared in volume 2 of the manga, as an old man whose Gold Saint status was unknown. While an old man, at 261 years, he trained Shiryu to be the Dragon Saint and was still recognized by his cloth as the Libra Saint. He stood watch over the sealed souls of the Specters until they freed themselves and he returned to Sanctuary. He fought off the restored Aries Shion and revealed his body hadn't truly aged, restoring his form to his prime. He revealed Athena had granted him the power of Misopethamenos, the anti-aging power of the gods. He aged 243 days during those 243 years. He then donned the Libra cloth for the first time in 243 years, having only prior been used to free Hyoga from the ice and to destroy the pillars that held up Poseidon's sea from crashing down on his world. He lead the Bronzes to Hades, but got separated from them, arriving at Judecca with the other Gold Saints and combined his powers with them to destroy the Wall of Lamentations, dying in the process. When the Libra Gold Cloth was sent to Elyseum by Poseidon, Shiryu donned the cloth, until Thanatos shattered it.

Previous War
Dohko was the Guardian of the seventh house of Sanctuary in The Lost Canvas and in Next Dimension, the only known Libra Gold Saint, having held the position for two and a half centuries. In The Lost Canvas, he is the one who finds Tenma and offers him a chance to become a Saint. During the war, Dohko helps Tenma, but is stabbed in the chest by Hades. He disappeared for a month, having been unconscious while healing in the smoke of Kanon Island's volcano. He is also given the blood of Athena, much like Rhadamanthys was with Hades' blood. He fights off Specters and awakens Athena's Cloth during a fight. He is sent along to return it to her. In Next Dimension, Dohko is a recently promoted Gold Saint, having risen from being a Bronze Saint, along with Shion. Rash, he heads to slay Hades in his human form, before he awakens, but is stopped by the Pegasus Saint, Tenma, not formally a Saint. After a futile attempt to fight, Tenma leaves, prompting the two to follow. Dohko is able to take out Skeletons in the barrier, but is unable to stop a Judge in the barrier, especially the second, his old friend, Crateris Suikyo, now Garuda. They manage to barely escape, and some scolding and glances of the future later, Dohko is resolved to catch up to his stronger Gold Saint brothers. After Athena's arrival, he returns to his Temple, to guard it from the Specters.

Techniques used by the Libra Saint and the 12 Libra Weapons
Dohko used two major techniques as the Libra Saint during the series, but can likely use all of Shiryu's Dragon-based attacks, as he is the one who taught Shiryu fight.

"Rozan Shouryuu Ha" Though Dohko has not been shown using this attack in the manga, it is listed in Saint Seiya Encyclopedia, and demonstrated on his fight with god Loki (Soul of Gold). In the two PS2 Games, he is able to launch this attack.

"Rozan Hyakuryuu Ha": "Rozan Hyakuryu Ha", also "Rozan's 100 Dragons Blow" or "Mount Lu One Hundred Dragons Force" is an offensive technique used by Libra Dohko. The technique involves the Libra Gold Saint moving his hands forward, palms out flat. He releases his energy in the form of one-hundred dragons, which fly out at the foe.

"Misopheta-menos": "Misopheta-menos" isn't a traditional technique, but rather a gift of power granted to Dohko by Athena in the previous Holy War. It is known as "The Anti-Aging Process of the Gods", it allows the user to have 100,000 heart beats a year, the same amount a person has in a day. By minimally moving and not being active, the body slows down, so the user ages a day within a single year. This was how he survived into the next Holy War, not even aged a year since the previous fights.

Weapons
For the Libra Weapons, see: Libra Weapons

Trivia
This cloth nor the user appeared in Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary.