Magi
In Christian tradition, the Magi, also known as the Three Wise Men or Kings from the east, are Zoroastrian judicial astrologers who according to Matthew 2:1 came "from the east to Jerusalem", to worship the Infant Jesus, him "that is born King of the Jews". Thus the magi that came from the east, from the Persian Empire, were the world's first religious figures to worship him. Among their gifts were chrismatic herbs for anointing him the Christ.
A Magus (plural Magi, from Latin, via Greek μάγος ; Old English: Mage; from Old Persian maguš) was a member of the Magi tribe from ancient Media, (inhabitants of Persia)[1], who were responsible for the religious and funerary practices. Later they accepted the zoroastrian religion, however, not without changing the original message of its founder, Zarathustra. They became the guardians of religion under the three persian empires. The best known Magi are the "Wise Men from the East", in the Bible. And, of whom Marco Polo wrote that he had seen their graves in what is today the district of Saveh, in Tehran, Iran. In English, the term may refer to a shaman, sorcerer, or wizard; it is the origin of the English words magic and magician.
The Gospel is not clear that there were in fact three Magi or when exactly did they visit Jesus; only that there were more than one Magus, and three gifts. Nevertheless, the number of Magi is usually extrapolated from the gifts, and as such the Three Wise Men are a staple of Christian Nativity scenes. While the European names have gotten the most publicity, other faith traditions have widely different versions.
The meaning of magi
Magi is a transliteration of the Greek magos (μαγος pl. μαγοι), which is a deravative from Old-Persian Magupati. The term is a specific occupational title referring to the Zoroastrian priest-kings of the late Persian Empire.
- "The three pagan kings were called Magi not because they were magicians but because of the great science of astrology which was theirs. Those whom the Hebrews called scribes and the Greeks, philosophers, and the Latins, wise men, the Persians called Magi. And the reason that they were called kings is that in those days it was the custom for the philosophers and wise men to be rulers." —Ludolph of Saxony (died 1378), Vita Christi.
Some older translations, such as the King James Version, translated Magi as "Wise Men". This is an archaic phrase meaning magicians or magi, with connotations of philosophers, scientists, and esteemed personages of a realm. Today the full meaning is forgotten and thus almost all contemporary translations use the Greek-derived term Magi.
In Herodotus the word magoi was held by aristocrats of the Median nation and specifically to Zoroastrian astronomer-priests. They were also known for slaying and enslaving demons. Since the passage in Matthew implies that they were observers of the stars, most conclude the intended meaning is "Zoroastrian priests", the addition "from the East" naturally referring to Persia. Indeed, Wycliffe's translation of the Gospel reads not "wise men" but "astrologers"; during the fourteenth century, "astrology" encompassed both astrology and astronomy.
In the King James Version, the same Greek word magos that is translated as "wise men" in the Gospel of Matthew is translated as "sorcerer" in the account of "Elymas the sorcerer" in Acts 13. [2] This Greek word also identifies Simon Magus in Acts 8.
Etymology
Persian
The Greek word is attested from the 5th century B.C.E. (Ancient Greek) as a direct loan from Old Persian maguš. The Persian word is a u-stem adjective from an Indo-Iranian root *magh "powerful, rich" also continued in Sanskrit magha "gift, wealth", magha-vant "generous" (a name of Indra). Avestan has maga, magauuan, probably with the meanings "sacrifice" and "sacrificer". The PIE root (*magh-) appears to have expressed power or ability, continued e.g. in Attic Greek mekhos (cf. mechanics) and in Germanic magan (English may), magts (English might, the expression "might and magic" thus being a figura etymologica). The original significance of the name for the Median priests thus seems to have been "the powerful". Modern Persian Mobed is derived from an Old Persian compound magu-pati "lord priest".
Greek use of magos
While in Herodotus, magos refers to either a member of the tribe of the Medes (1.101), or to one of the Zoroastrian Persian priests who could interpret dreams (7.37), it could also be used for any enchanter or wizard, and especially to charlatans or quacks (see also goetia), especially by philosphers such as Heraclitus who took a sceptical view of the art of an enchanter, and in comic literature (Lucian's Lucios or the Ass). In Hellenism, magos started to be used as an adjective, meaning "magical", as in magas techne "ars magica" (e.g. used by Philostratus).
English language
The plural Magi entered the English language in ca. 1200, referring to the Magi mentioned in Matthew 2:1, the singular being attested only considerably later, in the late 14th century, when it was borrowed from Old French in the meaning magician together with magic.
Traditional names for the Three Magi
The names of the Magi do not appear anywhere in the Gospel accounts nor does it state anywhere that the Magi were three in number. The traditional view that there were three Magi because there were three gifts given to the child does not take into account that there were more gifts given to the child that night. Mathew 2:10 mentions that the treasure the Magi presented included gifts as well as gold, frankincense and myrrh. These last three gifts, because of their price and significance, became worthy of note.
According to Western folklore, since the seventh century they settled as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar Their traditional names are Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar.:Names: Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar (or Gaspar):Source: European folklore
In the Eastern church various names are given for the three,
Other cultures have different names. In Ethiopian Christianity, for instance, they are Karsudan, Hor and Basanater. :Names: Hor, Basanater, and Karsudan :Source: The Book of Adam, an apocryphal Ethiopian textThe Armenians have Kagba, Badadilma, etc. (cf. Acta Sanctorum, May, I, 1780).
None of these names are obviously Persian or are generally agreed to carry any ascertainable meaning, although Caspar is also sometimes given as Gaspar, a variant of the Persian Jasper - "Master of the Treasure" - from which the name of the mineral jasper is derived.
There is an account that his real name was Rustaham-Gondofarr Suren-Pahlav of the Suren-Pahlav Clan, the ruler of the eastern-greater Iran, who ruled between 10B.C.E. to AD17, the vast empire of the Saka at the time of Arsacid dynasty. Another candidate for the origin of the name Caspar appears in the Acts of St. Thomas as Gondophares (AD 21-c.47) a.k.a. Gudapharasa (from which 'Caspar' derives via 'Gaspar'). He was also a Suren, and declared independence from Parthia to become the first Indo-Parthian king. He is likely to be a descendant of the first Gondofarr (i.e. Rustaham-Gondofarr). Since the latter Gondophares was allegedly visited by St Thomas the Apostle, Christian legend may have fixed on his ancestor Gondofarr as a suitable Magus to worship the infant Christ.
In contrast, the Syrian Christians name the Magi Larvandad, Hormisdas, and Gushnasaph. These names are likely of Persian origin; this does not, of course, guarantee their authenticity. :Names: Larvandad, Hormisdas, and Gushnasaph
- Source: Syrian Christian folklore
History in the Persian Empire
According to Herodotus, the Magi were the sacred caste of the Medes. They organized Persian society after the fall of Assyria and Babylon. Their power was curtailed by Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, and by his son Cambyses II; the Magi revolted against Cambyses and set up a rival claimant to the throne, one of their own, who took the name of Smerdis. Smerdis and his forces were defeated by the Persians under Darius I. The sect of the Magi continued in Persia, though its influence was limited after this political setback.
During the Classical era (555 B.C.E.- 300 C.E.), some Magi migrated westward[3], settling in Greece, and then Italy. For more than a century, Mithraism, a religion derived from Persia, was the largest single religion in Rome. The Magi were likely involved in its practice.
The Book of Jeremiah (39:3, 39:13) gives a title rab mag "chief magus" to the head of the Magi, Nergal Sharezar (Septuagint, Vulgate and KJV mistranslate Rabmag as a separate character). It's also believed by Christians that the Jewish prophet Daniel was "rab mag" and entrusted a Messianic vision (to be announced in due time by a "star") to a secret sect of the Magi for its eventual fulfillment (Daniel 4:9; 5: 11).
The Maga in India
The Zoroastrians form a very small religious minority in India, many of whom are Parsis. After invading Arabs succeeded in taking Ctesiphon in 637, Islam largely superseded Zoroastrianism, and the power of the Magi faded. Many (but not all) of the mages fled the advent of Islam in Persia, or Iran, by emigrating to India, settling in western principalities which form the modern states of Gujarat and Maharastra. As one can only be Zoroastrian by birth, the number of Parsis and Zoroastrians in the world is shrinking, and the remaining population risks passing down genetic defects as with any small community. Suffice to say Parsis are very rare, and Magi are even rarer.
In India there is a community termed Maga, Bhojaka or Shakadvipi Brahmins. Their major centers are in Rajasthan in Western India and near Gaya in Bihar. According to Bhavishya Purana and other texts, they were invited to settle in Punjab to conduct the worship of Lord Sun (Mitra or Surya in Sanskrit). Bhavishya Purana explicitly associates them to the rituals of the Zoroastrian faith.
The members of the community still worship in Sun temples in India. They are also heriditary priests in several Jain temples in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Bhojakas are mentioned in the copperplates of the Kadamba dynasty (4-6th cent) as managers of Jain institutions.
Images of Lord Sun in India are shown wearing a central asian dress, complete with boots. The term "Mihir" in India is regarded to represent the Maga influence.
In Christianity
As judicial astrologers, the Magi were known for the respect of spiritual light and rejection of spiritual darkness. They were also respected in the ancient world for their work in casting out demons and sending them to the netherworlds. As wise men, they were history's first astronomers. As kings, they were potentates within the neighboring Persian empire to the east. But more importantly, they were priests. And as priests, they followed their religious symbol (the star) to the birthplace of a king. And as a god, he would be the same one God which the Zoroastrian revealed religion venerated.
Moreover, the Gospel of Matthew records the Magi as the first religious figures to worship Christ. Indeed of their three gifts, the last is the most important: myrrh. Myrrh was an herb that was mixed with oil to make a chrism, that is the ointment marking Jesus as a royal figure, a healer, and the divine Christ. This means that the Magi arrived at the stable with knowledge of the religious and cosmic importance of Christ's birth.
For this reason, the story of the Magi is particularly respected and popular among many Christians. In Christianity, the visit of the Magi to Jesus as a child is commemorated by Catholics and other Christian sects (not Eastern Orthodox) on the Christian observance of Epiphany, January 6. This visit is frequently treated in Christian art and literature as The Journey of the Magi.
Upon this kernel of information Christians embroidered many circumstantial details about the magi. One of the most important changes was their rising from astrologers to kings. The general view is that this is linked to Old Testament prophesies that have the messiah being worshipped by kings in Isaiah 60:3, Psalm 72:10, and Psalm 68:29. Early readers reinterpreted Matthew in light of these prophecies and elevated the magi to kings. Mark Allan Powell rejects this view. He argues that the idea of the magi as kings arose considerably later in the time after Constantine and the change was made to endorse the role of Christian monarchs. By 500 C.E. all commentators adopted the prevalent tradition of the three were kings, and this continued until the Protestant Reformation.
In a hymn of the late 4th-century Iberian poet Prudentius, the three gifts have already gained their medieval interpretation as prophetic emblems of Jesus' identity, familiar in the carol "We Three Kings" (John Henry Hopkins, Jr., 1857). The frankincense, an incense used in temple worship, speaks of Jesus' priesthood. The gold speaks of Jesus' kingship. The myrrh, a spice or balm used in preparing bodies for burial, speaks of Jesus' atoning death.
Though the Qu'ran omits Matthew's episode of the magi, it was well known in Arabia. The muslim encyclopedist al-Tabari, writing in the 9th century, gives the familiar symbolism of the gifts of the magi; he gives as his source the later 7th century writer Wahb ibn Munabbih. [4]
- Main article: Star of Bethlehem.
The star that was rising in the East, familiar in iconology and legend as the Star of Bethlehem was interpreted by hearers of Matthew as the fulfillment of the "Star Prophecy" from the Book of Numbers 24:17:
- —There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
The Star Propecy was a Messianic reading applied by radical Jews and early Christians to the text from the Book of Numbers. It was familiar to contemporaries, one which Josephus applied to his patron Vespasian.
The Star of Bethlehem is often depicted moving across the heavens as a comet with a tail. In the gospel account, the star was not alone in identifying Bethlehem: an interpretation of the Book of Isaiah presented before Herod also identified Bethlehem as the natal place for a coming king, the Jewish Messiah, a descendant or "son" of King David. The clearest prophecy of Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah is found in Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Book of Micah.)
St Matthew's account
The Gospel of Matthew, written between 60 and 65 C.E., is the only source for the event. According to his account, the Magi first visited Herod (appointed as a vassal king of Judea by the Roman Empire), asking him where the new King could be found. Herod, showing his knowledge of local prophesy, sent them to Bethlehem, and asked that they return when they had found him (Matthew 2:1–Matthew 2:8). There, they appeared before the infant Jesus, noting that they observed his star—the Star of Bethlehem— rising in the east (other possible translation: his star in the ascendant), and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). The Magi were warned in a divine dream not to go back to Herod, and so returned to Persia by another route. This infuriated Herod and resulted in his massacre of the Holy Innocents (Matthew 2:12, and 16-18).
Matthew's Gospel does not mention their exact number, but since three gifts were mentioned, they were thus often entitled the Three Wise Men or later Three Kings. Alternate traditions have as few as two and as many as twelve visiting Jesus.
Neither their names nor their number are given: the Greek text refers to them merely as "Magi from the East" (μαγοι απο ανατολων). Although the word magi in Greek, (μαγοι) is neutral in gender, the magi class was restricted to adult men.
Since ancient magi were Persian, and since the lands to the east were the Persian Empire, the ethnicity and religion of the magoi intended by the author of Matthew is not an open question. Raymond E. Brown is convinced that the text demonstrates that they were gentiles, as they are portrayed as referring to the Jews as a foreign people, and show no knowledge of scripture. Almost all scholars agree with this view.
There is no support in the New Testament for the belief that the birth of the Messiah occurred at the winter solstice, save that the shepherds were in the pasture with their sheep. Judea's Mediterranean climate has mild winters reaching their coolest in late February. Thus December nights can be quite balmy and warm enough to graze sheep on grass that has grown with winter rains. During the hot months, conditions can be quite barren and the grasses dry. But the end of December was the time when the perennial grasses began to turn green again and the annual grasses had sprouted anew.
When did the magi see Jesus?
It is common for depictions of the nativity of Jesus to include the presence of the magi as well as the shepherds that Luke reported at the nativity. However, holidays celebrating the arrival of the magi traditionally recognize a distinction between the date of their arrival and the date of the birth. Luke does not mention the magi as being present in his account of the night of the birth and several details are recorded by Luke and Matthew that strongly indicate the magi did not arrive until sometime after the birth of Jesus. For example Luke mentions that Jesus flew to Egypt while only 8 days old, therefore if the Magi didn't visit him while an infant, they could visit him only after his return.
- Matthew 2:1 Matthew's introduction of the magi gives the reader no reason to believe that they were present on the night of the birth. Instead, he explicitly states that their arrival in Jerusalem was some unspecified time "after Jesus was born in Bethlehem".
- Matthew 2:2a At the time of their arrival in Jerusalem, the magi were asking "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? ..." Before locating or seeing the child, they already knew that the birth had taken place sometime earlier.
- Matthew 2:2b The magi also explicitly give their reason for knowing the birth had already taken place earlier. "For we saw his star when it rose [or 'in the east']" Being stargazers, they understood the original rising or appearing of the star to be the indication that the birth of a new king of the Jews had taken place. They had been traveling for some time to see the one who had already been born, as the star had indicated. Note that the star had informed them of what had happened (a king of the Jews had been born), but they did not yet know exactly where it had happened and so they came to the Jewish capital asking questions.
- Matthew 2:16 When Herod tries to eliminate the child by killing all young male children in Bethlehem, he chooses an age limit taking into account "the time that he had ascertained from the magi." This does not require that the time of appearing of the star was a full two years earlier, since it would be quite plausible that Herod adjusted upward sufficiently as a safety margin to insure the child would not be passed over as too old. Nevertheless, two observations can be made.
- This is another indication that both Herod and the magi believed the time of the birth could be determined from the appearing of the star, so that it could be used to estimate the child's current age.
- Even allowing for a generous increase in the estimate, it seems unlikely that the magi had indicated the birth had taken place that same night. Some nontrivial amount of time had passed since the birth.
- Matthew 2:1-8 Even if one ignored Herod's estimate, and supposed that the magi had been able to anticipate the rising of this star that marked the event of the birth, had travelled from the east in advance of the birth, and had gained admittance into the city of Jerusalem after dark and only shortly after the birth of Jesus that same night, there remains the problem that Matthew's account includes a series of events that would be difficult to fit into a single night. The magi began by asking questions (but who is still awake and available, if it is after the birth the same night?). Word spread to the extent that "all of Jerusalem became troubled". After hearing about the magi, King Herod assembled "all the chief priests and scribes of the people" to research the matter. He summons the magi secretly, consults with them and sends them to Bethlehem. Since Matthew gives no encouragement to the idea that the magi were present on the birth night, a more straight forward reading of the text would suggest these events transpired over a reasonable period of time, and much of it probably during daylight hours.
- Matthew 2:11a "And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother..." By the time the magi saw Jesus and Mary, Jesus was no longer lying in an animal's feeding trough (manger) in the temporary location of the birth. Rather, the magi found them in a house.
- Matthew 2:8,11,13,14,20,21 "...they saw the child..." Whereas the shepherds in Luke's account saw a newborn baby (Luke 2:12,16 Greek brephos Thayer's Lexicon: "a new-born child, an infant, a babe"), Matthew's account of the magi uses a different Greek word to indicate the young child (paidion), a word with a broader range of age. Matthew uses the same Greek word to describe Jesus throughout the passage, including when Joseph, Mary and Jesus return from living for a time in Egypt until the death of King Herod.
- Matthew 2:11b "...Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." These are expensive gifts. By contrast, Luke 2:24 records that when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the temple, they were at that time still too poor to offer the normal sacrifice, and instead had to offer "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” — the sacrifice of the poor (Leviticus 12:2-8). This is one of the indications that the visit of the magi would have taken place sometime after this sacrifice during the presentation in the temple in Jerusalem.
- Matthew 2:12-22 It would not have taken long after the magi's departure for Herod to learn that he had been tricked and to take action against the child. Matthew records that "when they [the magi] had departed" Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to flee with his family to Egypt, and he did so. If the magi's arrival had been on the night of the birth, they would not have been able to remain in Judea long enough to have Jesus circumcised there and later still to present him in the temple in Jerusalem. Yet Luke 2:22 records "when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord" which means they were in Jerusalem 40 days after the birth. This is another indication that the visit of the magi took place sometime after the presentation in the temple.
The collective weight of evidence from both Matthew and Luke makes a visit by the magi on the night of the birth implausible. Neither Luke nor Matthew provide any positive support for the idea that the magi were present on the night of the birth and both provide details that conflict with that idea. On the other hand, those same details are consistent with a visit sometime after the presentation in the temple.
The chief objection to a visit by the magi sometime after the presentation of Jesus in the temple is that Luke's gospel indicates only that after this "they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth" (Luke 2:39) with no mention of either the magi or a trip to Egypt prior to moving to Nazareth. At least two responses to this objection have been advanced.
- It may be that they first returned to Nazareth as Luke reports and then later moved back to Bethlehem in Judea for reasons not recorded. For example, they may have decided during their first stay in Bethlehem to relocate more permanently to a house there, and only returned to Nazareth for a short time to settle affairs and arrange the move. Bethlehem was the town of Joseph's ancestry and he may have had relatives there. Matthew's account does seem to suggest that after they returned from Egypt, they may have been initially considering settling in Judea. It was only after they were warned that Herod's son Herod Archelaus was reigning over Judea that they went back to Nazareth in Galilee, a town of low repute (cf. John 1:46).
- Luke was writing in a time before printing, when all text was copied by hand and brevity had special practical value. According to writing standards of the day, it would not be inappropriate for a writer to compress events, leaving out details that were not essential to the writer's focus. Luke may have simply chosen to omit the detour of dealing with that side story. One can see an example of compression in Luke's own writing by comparing the end of his gospel with the beginning of his work on the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 1:1-11, it is clear that Luke understands that the events between the resurrection of Jesus and the ascension took place over a period of 40 days. At the end of his gospel, Luke 24 covers the same time period, but without any indication that the events transpired over a span of 40 days. Each of his two accounts carries a different emphasis and each leaves out details that the other account includes.
Beyond the limits of at least 40 days and at most two years (though probably less than that), the clues in the accounts themselves do not give a clearer indication of how long after the birth of Jesus the magi arrived.
Astronomer Michael R. Molnar and others have taken the view that Matthew's statements that the star "went before" and "stood over" are terms that refer respectively to the retrogradation and stationing of the royal wandering "star" Jupiter. If Molnar's research is correct, the original and unusual event marking the birth of a great Jewish king took place April 17, 6 B.C.E. Later that same year, Jupiter would have reversed direction starting August 23 and would have stationed December 19, which could suggest that the magi arrived at or after that time. The interval of at least eight months since the birth could reasonably accommodate a journey from the east by the magi to see the unusual king.
For more details and other interpretations, see the "Proposed explanations for the star" in the Star of Bethlehem article.
Opposing views
There are, however, opposing views held by Jehovah's Witnesses [5], who do not see the arrival of the Magi as something to be celebrated. These views stress the Biblical condemnation of sorcery and astrology in such texts as Deuteronomy 18:10, 11, Leviticus 19:26, Isaiah 47:13, 14. They also point to the fact that the star seen by the Magi led them first to a hostile enemy of Jesus, Herod, and only then to the child's location - the argument being that if this was an event from God, it makes no sense for them to be led to a ruler with intentions to kill the child before taking them to Jesus.
Astrology and related arts were forbidden in the Jewish religion with death as the penalty for these acts. The "star" that the Magi followed did not behave like a true celestial body since according to the Magi's own description, the star moved in such a way as to first lead them to Herod and then it lead them to the house where Jesus and Mary were.Mathew 2:9,10
Due to the activity of this star, Herod (King of the Jews), received warning that a child was born who would eventually become "King of the Jews". This perceived threat to his throne is what motivated Herod to want to seek out Jesus and destroy him. Mathew 2:13
It now became necessary for God to intervene directly to save the child's life. That very same night, the Magi received a message in a dream not to return to Herod and they withdrew to their country by another way. This was not enough to deter Herod and further divine intevention came in the form of an angel that appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to "Get up, take the young child and its mother and flee into Egypt and stay there until I give you word...". Mathew 2:13
Why would God send a "star" to notify astrologers (who did not have God's approval in accordance with the Scriptures) that the child was born and have this "star" first take them to Herod knowing this would cause Herod to want to kill the child? Why send a star in the first place and then have to intervene with the Magi and with Joseph so that the child's life would be spared? Why would God send this star knowing that once Herod's plan of locating the child had been foiled, that there would be a slaughter of innocents two years old and under? Mathew 2:16
Tombs of the Magi
Marco Polo claimed that he was shown the three tombs of the Magi at Saveh south of Teheran in the 1270s:
- "In Persia is the city of Saba, from which the Three Magi set out and in this city they are buried, in three very large and beautiful monuments, side by side. And above them there is a square building, beautifully kept. The bodies are still entire, with hair and beard remaining." (Book i).
The Shrine at Cologne
A Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral, according to tradition, contains the bones of the Three Wise Men. Reputedly they were first discovered by Saint Helena on her famous pilgrimage to Palestine and the Holy Lands. She took the remains to the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople; they were later moved to Milan, before being sent to their current resting place by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I in 1164. The Milanese celebrate their part in the tradition by holding a medieval costume parade every 6th of January.
A version of the detailed elaboration familiar to us is laid out by the 14th-century cleric John of Hildesheim's Historia Trium Regum ("History of the Three Kings"). In accounting for the presence in Cologne of their mummified relics, he begins with the journey of Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great to Jerusalem, where she recovered the True Cross and other relics:
- "Queen Helen...began to think greatly of the bodies of these three kings, and she arrayed herself, and accompanied by many attendants, went into the Land of Ind...after she had found the bodies of Melchior, Balthazar, and Casper, Queen Helen put them into one chest and ornamented it with great riches, and she brought them into Constantinople...and laid them in a church that is called Saint Sophia."
The Magi depicted in art
The Three Wise Men most frequently appear in European art in the Adoration of the Magi; less often The Journey of the Magi has been a popular topos. More generally they appear in popular Nativity scenes and other Christmas decorations that have their origins in the Neapolitan variety of the Italian presepio or Nativity crèche; they are featured in Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, and in several Christmas carols, of which the best-known English one is "We Three Kings".
An early Anglo-Saxon picture survived on the Franks Casket, probably a pagan king’s hoard-box (early 7th century, whalebone carving); or rather the pagan king’s hoard-box survived because of that picture.[6] In its composition it follows the oriental style, which renders a courtly scene with the Virgin and Christ facing the spectator, while the Mægi devoutly approach from the (left) side.*
Even in pre-Christian days that motif was popular among heathens, as the Mægi had endured a long travel, and the more, as they were most generous givers. This was the reason why the carver adopted the scene. To ensure their help he labelled them in runes: ‘MÆGI’. By inserting a Woden’s knot (valknutr) over the back of the third ‘king’ and changing the Christian guiding angle into a goose or swan, the disguise of a hero’s swan maiden fylgja, he emphasized the part of the visitors for the benefit of his protégée. If the 13 rays (we would expect 12 or 16) of the rosette, which holds the place of the guiding star, stand for a lunar calendar, it is meant to perpetuate the good spell. This function of the rosette is not unlikely as the Virgin and the moon became associated, following the pattern of Earth Mother [7]
Artists have also allegorized the theme to represent the three ages of man. Since the Age of Discoveries, the Kings also represent three parts of the world. Balthasar is thus represented as a young African or Moor and Caspar may be depicted with distinctive Oriental features.
In the film Donovan's Reef, a Christmas play is held in French Polynesia. Instead of the traditional correspondence of continents and Magi, the version for Polynesian Catholics features the "king of Polynesia", the "king of America" and the "king of China".
Further sentimental narrative detail was added in the novel and movie Ben-Hur, where Balthasar appears as an old man, who goes back to Palestine to see the former child Jesus become an adult.
Epiphany
Christianity celebrates the three kings on the day of Epiphany, January 6, the last of the "twelve days of Christmas".
In Spain and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, the three kings (Sp. "los Reyes Magos de Oriente", also "Los Tres Reyes Magos", receive wish letters from children and magically bring them gifts on the night before Epiphany. The Wise Men come from the Orient on their camels to visit the houses of all the children; like the Northern European Santa Claus with his reindeer, they visit everyone in one night. In some areas, children prepare a drink for each of the kings, it is also traditional to prepare food and drink for the camels, because this is the only night of the year when they eat.
Traditions in the Spanish Speaking Countries
Spanish cities organize cabalgatas in the evening, in which the kings and their servants parade and throw sweets to the children (and parents) in attendance.
The cavalcade of the three kings in Alcoi claims to be the oldest in the world; the participants who portray the kings and pages walk through the crowd, giving presents to the children directly.
Contemporary skepticism
While a well known and popular story and a feature of Christmas carols and crèches, the story of the magi visiting Jesus has attracted some skepticism.
Some scholars, such as Robert H. Gundry, speculates that the author of Matthew transformed the shepherds that appear in Luke into the magi.
Catholic Biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah lists six reasons he does not believe the Biblical account:
- A star behaving as the Star of Bethlehem might have been the most notable astrological event of the period, but despite fairly good records is mentioned nowhere.
- The author of Matthew entirely ignores the politics of the period. At the time the Jewish leaders and Herod were great rivals, but the narrative casts them as allies against the new messiah.
- Jerusalem is only five miles away from Bethlehem. There was no reason to send only a small party of unreliable foreigners when they could easily have been joined by an armed force.
- The arrival of the magi in a village like Bethlehem would have been a major event, everyone in town would have known who they had visited making it easy for Herod to later find out which family the messiah was born to.
- That Herod and the people of Jerusalem were well aware of Jesus' birth conflicts with the later part of the Gospel where they are oblivious.
- None of it is mentioned in Luke or the other Gospels.
Brown's first reason can, however, be challenged with several credible arguments. The strongest of these is fronted by John Mosley the program supervisor for Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. According to Mosley the key question is whether the account refers to "stars" or "planets". The distinction is not likely to have been meaningful to astrologers like the Magi in the first century AD. If it was a planet then there are a number of celestial events that would have attracted the interest and fascination of anyone, like the Magi, who followed the stars.
The following is excerpted from a piece by Mosley posted on MSNBC:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3077385/
"Historical records and modern-day computer simulations indicate that there was a rare series of planetary groupings, also known as conjunctions, during the years 3 B.C.E. and 2 B.C.E.
The show started on the morning of June 12 in 3 B.C.E., when Venus could be sighted very close to Saturn in the eastern sky. Then there was a spectacular pairing of Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 12 in the constellation Leo, which ancient astrologers associated with the destiny of the Jews.
Between September of 3 B.C.E. and June of 2 B.C.E., Jupiter passed by the star Regulus in Leo, reversed itself and passed it again, then turned back and passed the star a third time. This was another remarkable event, since astrologers considered Jupiter the kingly planet and regarded Regulus as the “king star.”
The crowning touch came on June 17, when Jupiter seemed to approach so close to Venus that, without binoculars, they would have looked like a single star."
The date of Herod's death is generally accepted to be 5-4 B.C.E., which would be before these astronomical events of 3-2 B.C.E.
The Journey of the Magi is a topos of Christian painting and literature. It refers to the journey of three wise men mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew.
In the New Testament of the Bible, the birth of Jesus was attended by a new star. Some "magi" followed the star, which they saw as indicating a new king in the astrological house of the Jews, and came to pay homage. These men are assumed to be three in number, because they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. According to Herodotus, the word "magi" refers to a sacred sect of astrologers in Medes who provided the priests of Persia. Only Matthew provides an account of the veneration by the magi.
The account of the visit, in Matthew 2, has been a popular topic for Christian art and literature. The scene has been found in the earliest Christian pictorial art, and it was a popular tableau in the Renaissance. While the number of magi is indefinite in Matthew, tradition settled on three (as the three would mirror the trinity and because of the gifts) and gave them names (see Magus for more).
Indefinite is also the exact time when the Magi visited Jesus. Although it is fixed that they were present at the nativity, the text itself does not state it for certain. Some have interpreted it as that they visited Jesus when he was grown due to the word 'house' in Matthew 2:11.
The Commemoration of Magi in Different Cultures
Christmas Carols, "We Three Kings"
In modern times, in the West the term Magi has been appropriated in the genre of fantisy novels, role playing games, and movies. The mage character is popularly used in fantasy settings that involve magic. Mage, rather than magus, is the spelling usually encountered for magic-user characters in role-playing games and fantasy fiction. Mages are sometimes in computer role-playing games as playable character classes and/or NPCs such as Ultima, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Diablo, World of Warcraft and Everquest. Mages aren't always people who perform magic for entertainment. In some games, a mage may also be known as a wizard, sorceress, or witch. In other games, wizards, sorceresses and witches are completely different character classes.
Furthermore, many references to the three magi can be found in various games and shows.
In the 20th century, T. S. Eliot wrote a poem entitled "The Journey of the Magi". The poem was written after Eliot's conversion to Christianity and confirmation in the Church of England in 1927 and published in Ariel Poems in 1930. The poem is an account of the journey from the point of view of one of the magi. The text of the poem is widely printed on the world wide web.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
- Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. London: G. Chapman, 1977.
- Alfred Becker: “Franks Casket. Zu den Bildern und Inschriften des Runenkästchens von Auzon (Regensburg, 1973) pp. 125 – 142, Ikonographie der Magierbilder, Inschriften
- Clarke, Howard W. The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
- France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
- Powell, Mark Allan. "The Magi as Wise Men: Re-examining a Basic Supposition." New Testament Studies. Vol. 46, 2000.
- Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
- Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981
- Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975
See also
- The Journey of the Magi
- List of names for the Biblical nameless
- Astrology
- History of astrology
- Saint Nicholas
- Simon Magus
External links
- Mark Rose, "The Three Kings & the Star": the Cologne reliquary and the BBC popular documentary
- John of Hildesheim, "History of the three Kings" modernized in English by H. S. Morris
- Alfred Becker, Franks Casket
- Caroline Stone, "We Three Kings of Orient Were"
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Documentary proofs: The census of Augustus and the first census (and taxes) of Publius Sulpicius Quirinius in the year 8 B.C.E. (in german)
- The Majoos (Persian)
- The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
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