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Magi
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, here by Vicente Gil.
Balthasar, the youngest magian, bears frankincense and represents Africa. To the left stands Caspar, middle-aged, bearing gold and representing Asia. On his knees is Melchior, oldest, bearing myrrh and representing Europe.]]
Magi (singular 'magian', 'mage', 'magus', 'magusian', 'magusaean') is a term, used since at least the 4th century BCE, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which was – in the main – the ability to read the stars, and manipulate the fate that the stars foretold.
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, here by Vicente Gil.
Balthasar, the youngest magian, bears frankincense and represents Africa. To the left stands Caspar, middle-aged, bearing gold and representing Asia. On his knees is Melchior, oldest, bearing myrrh and representing Europe.]]
Magi (singular 'magian', 'mage', 'magus', 'magusian', 'magusaean') is a term, used since at least the 4th century BCE, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which was – in the main – the ability to read the stars, and manipulate the fate that the stars foretold. The meaning prior to Hellenistic period is uncertain.
Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, Greek mágos "magian" was influenced by (and eventually displaced) Greek goes, the older word for a practitioner of magic, to include astrology, alchemy and other "wisdom". This association was in turn the product of the Hellenistic fascination for (Pseudo-)Zoroaster, who was perceived by the Greeks to be the "Chaldean" "founder" of the Magi and "inventor" of both astrology and magic. Among the skeptical thinkers of the period, the term 'magian' acquired a negative connotation and was associated with tricksters and conjurers. This pejorative meaning survives in the words "magic" and "magician".
In English, the term "magi" is most commonly used in reference to the Gospel of Matthew's "wise men from the East", or "three wise men", though that number does not actually appear in scripture, and there are as few as two or as many as twelve in various sources. The plural "magi" entered the English language around 1200, in reference to the Biblical magi of . The singular appears considerably later, in the late 14th century, when it was borrowed from Old French in the meaning magician together with magic.
Pre-4th century BCE usage
In Greek sources
The perhaps oldest surviving reference to the magi – from Greek µ???? (mágos, plural: magoi) – is from 6th century BCE Heraclitus (apud Clemens Protrepticus 12), who curses the magi for their "impious" rites and rituals. A description of the rituals that Heraclitus refers to have not survived, and there is nothing to suggest that Heraclitus was referring to foreigners.
Better preserved are the descriptions of the mid-5th century BCE Herodotus, who in his portrayal of the Iranian expatriates living in Asia minor uses the term "magi" in two different senses. In the first sense (Histories 1.101), Herodotus speaks of the magi as one of the tribes/peoples (ethnous) of the Medes. In another sense (1.132), Herodotus uses the term "magi" to generically refer to a "sacerdotal caste", but "whose ethnic origin is never again so much as mentioned." But in other accounts, "we hear of Magi not only in Persia, Parthia, Bactria, Chorasmia, Aria, Media, and among the Sakas, but also in non-Iranian lands like Samaria, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Their influence was also widespread throughout Asia Minor. It is, therefore, quite likely that the sacerdotal caste of the Magi was distinct from the Median tribe of the same name."
Other Greek sources from before the Hellenistic period include the gentleman-soldier Xenophon, who had first-hand experience at the Achaemenid court. In his early 4th century BCE Cyropaedia, the Athenian depicts the magians as authorities for all religious matters (8.3.11), and imagines the magians to be responsible for the education of the emperor-to-be.
In Iranian sources
The term only appears twice in Iranian texts from before the 4th century BCE, and only one of these can be dated with precision. This one instance occurs in the trilingual Behistun inscription of Darius I, and which can be dated to about 520 BCE. In this trilingual text, certain rebels have 'magian' as an attribute; in the Old Persian portion as ma?u- (generally assumed to be a loan word from Median). The meaning of the term in this context is uncertain.
The other instance appears in the texts of the Avesta, i.e. in the sacred literature of Zoroastrianism. In this instance, which is in the Younger Avestan portion, the term appears in the hapax moghu.tbiš, meaning "hostile to the moghu", where moghu does not (as was previously thought) mean "magus", but rather "a member of the tribe" or referred to a particular social class in the proto-Iranian language and then continued to do so in Avestan.
An unrelated term, but previously assumed to be related, appears in the older Gathic Avestan language texts. This word, adjectival magavan meaning "possessing maga-", was once the premise that Avestan maga- and Median (i.e. Old Persian) magu- were co-eval (and also that both these were cognates of Vedic Sanskrit magha-). While "in the Gathas the word seems to mean both the teaching of Zoroaster and the community that accepted that teaching," and it seems that Avestan maga- is related to Sanskrit magha-, "there is no reason to suppose that the western Iranian form magu (Magus) has exactly the same meaning" as well.
But it "may be, however," that Avestan moghu (which is not the same as Avestan maga-) "and Medean magu were the same word in origin, a common Iranian term for 'member of the tribe' having developed among the Medes the special sense of 'member of the (priestly) tribe', hence a priest."cf
4th century BCE onwards
In Greco-Roman sources
As early as the 5th century BCE, Greek magos had spawned mageia and magike to describe the activity of a magus, that is, it was his art and practice. But almost from the outset the noun for the action and the noun for the actor parted company. Thereafter, mageia was used not for what actual magi did, but for something related to the word 'magic' in the modern sense, i.e. using supernatural means to achieve an effect in the natural world, or the appearance of achieving these effects through trickery or sleight of hand. The early Greek texts typically have the pejorative meaning, which in turn influenced the meaning of magos to denote a conjurer and a charlatan. Already in the mid-5th century BCE, Herodotus identifies the magi as interpreters of omens and dreams (Histories 7.19, 7.37, 1.107, 1.108, 1.120, 1.128).
Once the magi had been associated with "magic"—Greek magikos—it was but a natural progression that the Greek's image of Zoroaster would metamorphose into a magician too. The first century Pliny the elder names "Zoroaster" as the inventor of magic (Natural History xxxx.2.3), but a "principle of the division of labor appears to have spared Zoroaster most of the responsibility for introducing the dark arts to the Greek and Roman worlds. That dubious honor went to another fabulous magus, Ostanes, to whom most of the pseudepigraphic magical literature was attributed." For Pliny, this magic was a "monstrous craft" that gave the Greeks not only a "lust" (aviditatem) for magic, but a downright "madness" (rabiem) for it, and Pliny supposed that Greek philosophers—among them Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus, and Plato—traveled abroad to study it, and then returned to teach it (xxx.2.8-10).
"Zoroaster" – or rather what the Greeks supposed him to be – was for the Hellenists the figurehead of the 'magi', and the founder of that order (or what the Greeks considered to be an order). He was further projected as the author of a vast compendium of "Zoroastrian" pseudepigrapha, composed in the main to discredit the texts of rivals. "The Greeks considered the best wisdom to be exotic wisdom" and "what better and more convenient authority than the distant — temporally and geographically — Zoroaster?" The subject of these texts, the authenticity of which was rarely challenged, ranged from treatises on nature to ones on necromancy. But the bulk of these texts dealt with astronomical speculations and magical lore.
One factor for the association with astrology was Zoroaster's name, or rather, what the Greeks made of it. Within the scheme of Greek thinking (which was always on the lookout for hidden significances and "real" meanings of words) his name was identified at first with star-worshiping (astrothytes "star sacrificer") and, with the Zo-, even as the living star. Later, an even more elaborate mytho-etymology evolved: Zoroaster died by the living (zo-) flux (-ro-) of fire from the star (-astr-) which he himself had invoked, and even, that the stars killed him in revenge for having been restrained by him.
The second, and "more serious" factor for the association with astrology was the notion that Zoroaster was a Chaldean. The alternate Greek name for Zoroaster was Zaratas/Zaradas/Zaratos (cf. Agathias 2.23-5, Clement Stromata I.15), which—so Bidez and Cumont—derived from a Semitic form of his name. The Pythagorean tradition considered the "founder" of their order to have studied with Zoroaster in Chaldea (Porphyry Life of Pythagoras 12, Alexander Polyhistor apud Clement's Stromata I.15, Diodorus of Eritrea, Aristoxenus apud Hippolitus VI32.2). Lydus (On the Months II.4) attributes the creation of the seven-day week to "the Chaldeans in the circle of Zoroaster and Hystaspes," and who did so because there were seven planets. The Suda's chapter on astronomia notes that the Babylonians learned their astrology from Zoroaster. Lucian of Samosata (Mennipus 6) decides to journey to Babylon "to ask one of the magi, Zoroaster's disciples and successors," for their opinion.
In Chinese sources
Victor H. Mair provides archaeological and linguistic evidence suggesting that Chinese wu ("shaman; witch, wizard; magician", Old Chinese *myag) was a loanword from Old Persian *maguš "magician; magi". He describes:
- The recent discovery at an early Chou site of two figurines with unmistakably Caucasoid or Europoid feature is startling prima facie evidence of East-West interaction during the first half of the first millennium Before the Current Era. It is especially interesting that one of the figurines bears on the top of his head the clearly incised graph ? which identifies him as a wu (< *myag).
These figurines, which are dated circa 8th century BCE, were discovered during a 1980 excavation of a Zhou Dynasty palace in Fufeng County (Shaanxi Province).
Mair identifies the ancient Bronzeware script "shaman" character (a cross with T-shaped potents) with a Western symbol of magicians, the "Cross Potent" (see cross), which "can hardly be attributable to sheer coincidence or chance independent origination."
Compared with the linguistic reconstructions of many Indo-European languages, the current reconstruction of Old (or "Archaic") Chinese is more provisional. This velar final -g in Mair's *myag is evident in several Old Chinese reconstructions (Dong Tonghe's *mywag, Zhou Fagao's *mjwa?, and Li Fanggui's *mjag), but not all (Bernhard Karlgren's *mywo and Axel Schuessler's *ma).
In Semitic sources
In Arabic texts of the Islamic period, Zoroaster is – as in Greco-Roman tradition also – "founder" of the magians, Arabic majusya.
In the 1980s, majus was part of Iraqi propaganda vocabulary of the Iran–Iraq War to refer to Iranians in general. "By referring to the Iranians in these documents as majus, the security apparatus [implied] that the Iranians [were] not sincere Muslims, but rather covertly practice their pre-Islamic beliefs. Thus, in their eyes, Iraq's war took on the dimensions of not only a struggle for Arab nationalism, but also a campaign in the name of Islam."
In Christian tradition
Christian tradition has magians visiting the infant Jesus shortly after his birth. This tradition has its origins in the Gospel of Matthew . The twelve verses describe how certain magians from the east were notified of the birth of a king in Judea by the appearance of a star. Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, they visit King Herod to determine where the king of the Jews has been born. Herod, disturbed, tells them that he has not heard of the child, but informs them of a prophecy that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. He then asks the magians to inform him when they find the infant so that Herod may also worship him. Guided by the star, the wise men then find the baby Jesus in a house in Bethlehem, worship him, and present him with "gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." (2.11) In a dream they are warned not to return to Herod, so they return to their homes by another route. Since its composition in the late 1st century, numerous apocryphal stories have embellished the gospel's account.
The gospel's mágoi (Greek) or magušaya (Aramaic) is typically translated as "wise men", a meaning that is also found in the commentaries of St. Justin, Origen, St. Augustine and St. Jerome. The term appears in both Old- and New Testament with the meaning of "Magicians". (Acts of the Apostles 8:9; 13:6, 8, and the Septuagint of Daniel 1:20; 2:2, 2:10, 2:27; 4:4; 5:7, 5:11, 5:15). This is however "not the common interpretation."
In Esoteric Christianity, one who is skilled, profound, or a master of the esoteric or a magical art is titled a 'magus' or 'mage' (as opposed to an adept, who is skilled but not a master). The title is rare and is really only used in a historical context.
In popular culture
- The three magi are main characters in Gian Carlo Menotti's opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951), the first opera written for television.
- Three magi are major characters in Christopher Moore's light-hearted novel about the life of Jesus, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
- As three super-computers, Melchior, Balthasar and Casper, the magi appear in the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which features many images from Judeo-Christian stories.
- In the game Chrono Trigger, the Gurus of Life, Time, and Reason are named Melchior, Belthazar, and Gaspar. Magus is also the name of Frog's Arch Nemesis.
- In the game Xenogears there are Three Wisemen of Shevat named Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar.
- In the 1989 novel Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist , the Magi are the primary antagonists and are a secretive magical order dating back to Ancient Persia , who are responsible for the fairy world's attempt to take the Earth back from humanity.
- The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn used the title of "Magus" to refer to the second-highest level of attainment in their degree system. This system, with associated titles, would later be adopted by Aleister Crowley for his occult order A?A?, wherein the title "Magus" designated the highest attainable grade of magic (considered the mastery of Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, etc.). To be a Magi means to journey to give gifts.
- In the MMORPG, World of Warcraft magi, or mages are characterized as learned masters of the arcane arts and wield the powers of Fire, Frost and Arcane magic. From a game-mechanics perspective, mages play a role as ranged DPS (damage per second) or "nuker."
- In the MMORPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, a Magus is a Chaos race defensive caster DPS class for Destruction. Summoning demons for added damage and utility, and specializing in short and long range single target, and area of effect spells.
- In the game Warhammer 40,000, the term Magos is used to describe a high ranking official of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a para-religious cult dedicated to technology.
- In the book The Quest by Wilbur Smith, the central character, Taita, is referred to as "Magus," a long-lived, all-knowing sage and savant who has mastered the supernatural and attained magical powers. He embodies the Truth and seeks to destroy the Lie.
- The guards of Imhotep's tomb in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns are actually an ancient group of people called the Medjay, but people often mistake them for the Magi.
- In the visual novel Fate/Stay Night by Type-Moon, characters who are proficient in sorcery often refer to themselves as magi.
- In the manga Negima, the term Magister Magi refers to master mages.
- The Magus is a novel by John Fowles.
- In the television series Xena: Warrior Princess the Magi are a group of 3 Arab people who bring gifts to Xena's newborn girl Eve, only to turn out to be assassins of the Gods. (This is part of a larger plot that combines elements of Greek & Roman mythology with the story of the birth of Christ.)
Further reading
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