Sasha

Sasha ( サーシャ, Sāsha ) is the 18th century reincarnation of Athena, and one of the main characters of The Lost Canvas.

Background
She spent her childhood in an orphanage in Italy with her friend Tenma and her brother Alone (the host of the God Hades), before being taken to the Sanctuary by Sisyphus Sagittarius.

Origin of name
Sasha is the diminutive of the name "Alexander" and "Alexandra", which in Greek means "defender of humanity."

Personality
Sasha is a very sweet, peaceful and very kind girl who carries herself with poise and dignity. She is a person with strength and great maturity, showing herself well aware of her role as Goddess, being willing to accept her role from a young age, despite the sacrifice that it implies, a demonstration of her strength is when she finds out that her younger brother had become Hades himself and, despite their bond, she decides to face him to protect the world. She is very receptive to others and is never judgemental. She is shown to like flowers and manual work, as she knitted a flower purse to her friends.

She has shown to be an empathetic person, often moved by the death of her Knights, and crying when Shion and Dohko kill the three Silver Knights, she is also shown to be able to create strong bonds with her friends and inspire them, especially the golden knights, such as Rasgado, Kardia, Sisyphus and Sage. It also shows great sadness even towards the death of its enemies, showing its condolences for the specters of Hades (she openly does it for Kagaho).

Unlike her incarnation in the 21th centry, Saori, Sasha had a simple life as an orphan, this made her a very humble and friendly person, easily managing to create bonds of friendship with her knights, having lived with Tenma and Alone during her childhood, Sasha has a special bond with these two, crying a lot when she was taken to the sanctuary by Sisyphus

Appareance
As the previous incarnation of the Goddess Athena, Sasha looks very similar to Saori Kido. She has lilac hair, green eyes and often wears a long white tunic. The differences with Saori other than hair colour (that differs in the manga), are subtle, like the bracelet on Sasha's right hand, her anime hair being in a lighter shade, her eyes have a more greenish tintin addition to having a more developed bust than Saori.

Sasha wears a white sleeveless dress during Hades' attack on the Sanctuary. Then extra details are added: a high, long neck is added, loose sleeves leaving the shoulders bare. This gives her a more elegant look. Also mirroring Saori, cuts her hair in a point of the story.

Childhood
She spent her childhood with Alone and Tenma in a small village in Italy and is later "adopted" by the Sanctuary in Greece. Before leaving for the Sanctuary, she gives Alone and Tenma bracelets made from flowers as a charm that will hopefully reunite them one day.

Became Godess Of War
In the Sanctuary, she meets Tenma again as a Saint and later encounters her brother Alone as an enemy. Although being in different positions, Sasha wishes to live with Tenma and Alone again, remembering their promise.

Holy War
After the death of many of her Saints and her discovery that Alone could bring his Specters back to life, Sasha raises a barrier with her Cosmo covering all Sanctuary to prevent the Specters in the area from being revived. However, as long as the barrier remains active, her Cosmo will be drained, weakening her. During the invasion of the Sanctuary by Alone and his Specters, Sasha and the Pope attempted to seal him after seeing Alone trying to kill Tenma, but he manages to escape. Once Hades is expelled from Alone's body, Athena joins Tenma and Alone in concentrating their Cosmo in the garland all three wear, and banish Hades' soul from the earthly plane.

Athena's divine power were sealed by the intervention of Acheron Charon. Seeking Hades, she aims to trespass the Demon Temples, guarded by Tenma, Shion and Regulus. Athena then encounters Pandora and her guardians, and realizing the moment of the final battle is near, resurrects the legendary Cloth of Athena, and dons it, to everyone's amazement. Afterward, Athena succumbs to the weight of the Cloth, as she is unable to tap into her Cosmo to power and operate it in unison, due to Acheron Charon's seal, and is left at Pandora's mercy. Overpowered by her, Athena reminisces about their childhood, and manages to awake her Cosmo partially. After Rhadamanthys destroyed the painting which sealed her powers, she recovered her divine condition, restored the petrified Saints aboard the Ship of Hope, and parted to engage Alone once and for all. After their encounter, Athena witnesses Tenma and Alone's duel to the death. Once Hades' soul is expelled from Alone body and flees, Athena joins Tenma and Alone in the pursuit of the deity's soul and confront him. Athena then imbues the garland in her wrist, along with Alone's and Tenma's, with her divine Cosmo, managing to banish Hades from the earthly plane. It is implied her soul returns to Olympus, to reincarnate in the future.

Trivia

 * Teshirogi referring to her as The previous Athena who sealed the twin gods in that era.
 * This previous incarnation of Athena is featured more prominently in the anime adaptation.