Who are these guys?
They come from the East following a star.
They're bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
One of the biggest misconceptions about these guys is their name, 'We Three Kings' or 'The Three Wise Men'. A bunch of Bible translations including the King James Version all uses the term 'wise men'. But the original Greek says nothing about wise men or kings.
The text says 'Maguey' from the East, commonly anglicized as Magoi (read as mey - jahy) or Magi (read as mah - jahy) from the East. You know, the term that we get the word for 'mage' or 'magician'
But what does Magi really were in antiquity?
The original term comes from the old Persian word for creased and generally speaking, scholars agree that the Magi were the primary ritual specialists in temple functionaries of Persia, modern-day Iran.
Babylonian texts from the 5th century BCE talk about a group of priests called the 'Magi' and many Magi must have been followers of Zoroastrianism which was the dominant religion of the time in that area. However, the category of Magi seems to have been pretty loose in antiquity, whether all Magi were followers of Zoroastrianism, or whether they were all part of the same hereditary caste of priests is not all that clear. Moreover, the word 'Priest' really doesn't do these guys justice.
Many Magi must have been involved in politics or served as advisors to Persian rulers. One of the most famous Magi, a guy named Gaumata actually led a huge rebellion against the Persian Emperor, Darius I according to an old Persian Inscription in Bisotun, Iran.
"There was a certain man, a Magian named Gaumata, who raised a rebellion..." -- Bisotun Inscription
The Greek historian Herodotus suggests that these guys had a whole range of duties; Sacrificing to the Gods, interpreting dreams, or telling the future. And it was these last two duties that were most famous among the Greeks. The Magi were known to be experts in Astrology and Divination. Which kind of makes their story in the Gospel of Matthew chasing a star seemed a little bit more clear. This is the kind of stereotype that ancient Greek audiences would have thought of when they thought about Magi.
But the most interesting is that being a Magus was not really a respected profession in the Greco - Roman world. When the Greeks assimilated the word Magus (read as magos) into their language, it took a more pejorative connotation, meaning sorcerer or magician. Accusing someone of being a Magus was actually a huge deal, because you would have been viewed as a suspicious or dangerous member of the society.
In fact, the Roman writer Apuleius was arrested for being accused of being a Magus. Apparently putting a curse on his wife to s†éál her fortune. For many earlier Greek authors like Sophocles or later Christian authors like Clement of Alexandria, being a Magus means practicing 'Mageia'.
"[Creon] sets this wizard on me, this scheming magus, this fortune teller peddling lies!" - Oedipus, Oedipus Tyrannus 385
A Greek word that they used any ritual that they thought was deviant or suspicious. Accusing someone of Mageia means accusing them of practicing secret rituals at night, s†éáling body parts from the graves to use in their potions, and cursing helpless women and children.
But was ancient magic really like this? Where magi basically are sorcerers practicing weird deviant rituals?
The archeology of magic suggests that these accusations basically just amount to slanderous rhetoric. Most people had access to forms of magic and divination without being arrested like Apuleius.
Hollywood too often influences our ideas of magic, but in the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was actually a relatively common practice for ritual specialists and priests. And it wasn't quite as fantastic as we might have imagined.
One of the most famous archeological finds, for example, is a divination kit found at the city of Pergamun in Asia Minor.
The divination kit which dates to the 3rd century CE includes seven bronze objects and three stone amulets. Among the bronze items, there is a concave disk bearing magical glyphs called 'Charakteres'.
Along with a few Greek letters and Astrolological sign all structured around concentric circles partitioned into regular segments. No scholar really knows how this divination disk was used in Pergamun, but nevertheless we assume it was just part of the toolkit of ritual specialists in the city of Pergamun.
Going back to our wisemen from the Gspel of Matthew, ironically the Three Magi were pretty popular in early Christian magic as well. Take a look at this bronze amulet currently housed in the British Museum.
On the front is a wicked male god of some sort holding scorpions and trampling crocodiles, surrounded by magical symbols. But on the other side, it is covered in New Testament imagery, we see God, flanked by two angels, Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine and right in the middle, a Nativity scene with the shepherds and the Three Magi bringing their gifts to Jesus.
Christians use amulets like these all the time to protect themselves from misfortune since ancient Christians believed Demons to be everywhere. This particular amulet reads, "Lord, do not give to my enemies for your right hand always protects me".
The Magi appear in several protective magical contexts both in Late Antiquity and the Medieval Period. Maybe it was because of the Mgi's reputation being ritual experts, or maybe it was because of their mysterious origins from the East, but it seems that the ancient Christians had a pretty creative way to adapt and reuse the nativity story from the Gospel of Matthew.
_____________________________
This is a transcription (with some edits) of the video " The 3 Wise Men: Ancient Magicians? " by Religion For Breakfast from YøùTùbé.
It's (2AM) 3AM and I don't have anything better to do but watch YøùTùbé Videos.
Thoughts after watching the video:
- Depende pala talaga sa mga naatasang mag translate ng libro kung anong mga salita yung gagamitin nila.
So nung panahon nung na translate from Hebrew(?) to Greek yung Bible, di nila magamit yung word na 'Magi/Magus' kasi di maganda yung connotation nung word, kaya napunta sa 'wise men' and 'three kings'.
They come from the East following a star.
They're bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
One of the biggest misconceptions about these guys is their name, 'We Three Kings' or 'The Three Wise Men'. A bunch of Bible translations including the King James Version all uses the term 'wise men'. But the original Greek says nothing about wise men or kings.
The text says 'Maguey' from the East, commonly anglicized as Magoi (read as mey - jahy) or Magi (read as mah - jahy) from the East. You know, the term that we get the word for 'mage' or 'magician'
But what does Magi really were in antiquity?
The original term comes from the old Persian word for creased and generally speaking, scholars agree that the Magi were the primary ritual specialists in temple functionaries of Persia, modern-day Iran.
Babylonian texts from the 5th century BCE talk about a group of priests called the 'Magi' and many Magi must have been followers of Zoroastrianism which was the dominant religion of the time in that area. However, the category of Magi seems to have been pretty loose in antiquity, whether all Magi were followers of Zoroastrianism, or whether they were all part of the same hereditary caste of priests is not all that clear. Moreover, the word 'Priest' really doesn't do these guys justice.
Many Magi must have been involved in politics or served as advisors to Persian rulers. One of the most famous Magi, a guy named Gaumata actually led a huge rebellion against the Persian Emperor, Darius I according to an old Persian Inscription in Bisotun, Iran.
"There was a certain man, a Magian named Gaumata, who raised a rebellion..." -- Bisotun Inscription
The Greek historian Herodotus suggests that these guys had a whole range of duties; Sacrificing to the Gods, interpreting dreams, or telling the future. And it was these last two duties that were most famous among the Greeks. The Magi were known to be experts in Astrology and Divination. Which kind of makes their story in the Gospel of Matthew chasing a star seemed a little bit more clear. This is the kind of stereotype that ancient Greek audiences would have thought of when they thought about Magi.
But the most interesting is that being a Magus was not really a respected profession in the Greco - Roman world. When the Greeks assimilated the word Magus (read as magos) into their language, it took a more pejorative connotation, meaning sorcerer or magician. Accusing someone of being a Magus was actually a huge deal, because you would have been viewed as a suspicious or dangerous member of the society.
In fact, the Roman writer Apuleius was arrested for being accused of being a Magus. Apparently putting a curse on his wife to s†éál her fortune. For many earlier Greek authors like Sophocles or later Christian authors like Clement of Alexandria, being a Magus means practicing 'Mageia'.
"[Creon] sets this wizard on me, this scheming magus, this fortune teller peddling lies!" - Oedipus, Oedipus Tyrannus 385
A Greek word that they used any ritual that they thought was deviant or suspicious. Accusing someone of Mageia means accusing them of practicing secret rituals at night, s†éáling body parts from the graves to use in their potions, and cursing helpless women and children.
But was ancient magic really like this? Where magi basically are sorcerers practicing weird deviant rituals?
The archeology of magic suggests that these accusations basically just amount to slanderous rhetoric. Most people had access to forms of magic and divination without being arrested like Apuleius.
Hollywood too often influences our ideas of magic, but in the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was actually a relatively common practice for ritual specialists and priests. And it wasn't quite as fantastic as we might have imagined.
One of the most famous archeological finds, for example, is a divination kit found at the city of Pergamun in Asia Minor.
The divination kit which dates to the 3rd century CE includes seven bronze objects and three stone amulets. Among the bronze items, there is a concave disk bearing magical glyphs called 'Charakteres'.
Along with a few Greek letters and Astrolological sign all structured around concentric circles partitioned into regular segments. No scholar really knows how this divination disk was used in Pergamun, but nevertheless we assume it was just part of the toolkit of ritual specialists in the city of Pergamun.
Going back to our wisemen from the Gspel of Matthew, ironically the Three Magi were pretty popular in early Christian magic as well. Take a look at this bronze amulet currently housed in the British Museum.
On the front is a wicked male god of some sort holding scorpions and trampling crocodiles, surrounded by magical symbols. But on the other side, it is covered in New Testament imagery, we see God, flanked by two angels, Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine and right in the middle, a Nativity scene with the shepherds and the Three Magi bringing their gifts to Jesus.
Christians use amulets like these all the time to protect themselves from misfortune since ancient Christians believed Demons to be everywhere. This particular amulet reads, "Lord, do not give to my enemies for your right hand always protects me".
The Magi appear in several protective magical contexts both in Late Antiquity and the Medieval Period. Maybe it was because of the Mgi's reputation being ritual experts, or maybe it was because of their mysterious origins from the East, but it seems that the ancient Christians had a pretty creative way to adapt and reuse the nativity story from the Gospel of Matthew.
_____________________________
This is a transcription (with some edits) of the video " The 3 Wise Men: Ancient Magicians? " by Religion For Breakfast from YøùTùbé.
It's (2AM) 3AM and I don't have anything better to do but watch YøùTùbé Videos.
Thoughts after watching the video:
- Depende pala talaga sa mga naatasang mag translate ng libro kung anong mga salita yung gagamitin nila.
So nung panahon nung na translate from Hebrew(?) to Greek yung Bible, di nila magamit yung word na 'Magi/Magus' kasi di maganda yung connotation nung word, kaya napunta sa 'wise men' and 'three kings'.
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