Sagittarius

Chiron is a centaur entirely different from his kin. Where the other centaurs — sons of Ixion and a cloud — are violent, drunken and brutal, Chiron is the son of Cronus and the nymph Philyra. His noble origins are reflected in his nature: he embodies the perfect synthesis of bestiality and reason, of physical strength and intellectual wisdom.

His mastery extends to medicine, surgery, music, archery, prophecy and philosophy. The greatest Greek heroes were his pupils: Achilles — whose character he shaped from childhood — Jason, Asclepius who became the god of medicine, Theseus, and even Heracles. His cave on Mount Pelion was the first great training center for heroes.

Chiron's fate turns on a tragic incident. Heracles, visiting his friend the centaur Pholus, is attacked by other centaurs. In the melee, he fires his arrows poisoned with the blood of the Lernaean Hydra — one of them accidentally strikes Chiron, who was not involved in the fight.

The wound would be mortal for a mortal — but Chiron is immortal, son of a Titan. He cannot die, but the Hydra's venom condemns him to endless pain, impossible to cure even with his own medical art. Immortality becomes a curse: to suffer eternally without being able to die.

Chiron ultimately negotiates an extraordinary exchange with Zeus. He agrees to cede his immortality to Prometheus — the chained Titan whose liver is devoured each day — so that he may be freed. It is an act of ultimate compassion: Chiron chooses death to end his own suffering and deliver another being from his pain. Zeus, moved, places him among the stars as Sagittarius.

The Sagittarius constellation points its arrow at Antares — the red heart of the neighboring Scorpion — like a cosmic guardian. In that direction lies the galactic center of the Milky Way, some 26,000 light-years away: where the greatest density of stars, nebulae and black holes concentrates.

The Sagittarius region is one of the richest in the sky: it hosts the Lagoon Nebula (M8), the Trifid Nebula (M20), the Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24) and dozens of globular clusters — as if Chiron's wisdom, now a star, continues to radiate toward infinity.

The main asterism of Sagittarius is the Teapot — eight stars drawing a teapot whose steam escapes toward the Milky Way.

The parallel between Aioros of Sagittarius and Chiron is one of the richest in all of Saint Seiya. Chiron is the great trainer of heroes: his students become the greatest of their generation. Aioros is Seiya's mentor — it is he who entrusts the young Japanese warrior with the Pegasus armor and plants in him the seed of the hero who will save the world.

Like Chiron, Aioros is unjustly accused and dies prematurely, victim of a conspiracy — the arrow of the poisoned Grand Pope, like Heracles' arrow. Like Chiron who sacrificed his immortality to free Prometheus, Aioros sacrifices his life to save the child of the goddess — baby Athena.

The Gold Armor of Sagittarius is also the only armor to act without a wearer in the series — as if Aioros's will continued to live in his gold after his death, guiding the Bronze Knights as Chiron guided his students from the stars.