Biblical Magi

The Magi appear solely in the Gospel of Matthew, which states that they came "from the east" (Greek ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν - apo anatolōn) to worship the "one who has been born king of the Jews".

[13] The single biblical account in Matthew 2 simply presents an event at an unspecified point after Jesus's birth in which an unnumbered party of unnamed "wise men" (μάγοι, mágoi) visits him in a house (οἰκίαν, oikian), not a stable.

The Greek magos itself is derived from Old Persian maguŝ, which in turn originated from the Avestan magâunô, referring to the Iranian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism.

[19][20] Within this tradition, priests paid particular attention to the stars and gained an international reputation for astrology,[21] which was at that time highly regarded as a science.

[30] Another eighth century text, Collectanea et Flores, which was likewise a Latin translation from an original Greek account, continues the tradition of three kings and their names and gives additional details.

Among Syrian Christians, they are Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas;,[38] which are approximations of typical Zoroastrian names, in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they are Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while Armenian Catholics have Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma.

Toghrul became identified with the legendary Central Asian Christian king Prester John, whose Mongol descendants were sought as allies against the Muslims by contemporary European monarchs and popes.

[56] Apart from their names, the three Magi developed distinct characteristics in Christian tradition, so that between them they represented the three ages of (adult) man, three geographical and cultural areas, and sometimes other concepts.

In one tradition, reflected in art by at least the 14th century—for example, in the Arena Chapel by Giotto in 1305—Caspar is old, normally with a white beard, and gives the gold; he is "King of Tarsus, land of merchants" on the Mediterranean coast of modern Turkey, and is first in line to kneel to Christ.

Melchior is middle-aged, giving frankincense from Arabia, and Balthazar is a young man, very often and increasingly black-skinned, with myrrh from Saba (modern southern Yemen).

[57] Balthazar's blackness has been the subject of considerable recent scholarly attention; in art, it is found mostly in northern Europe, beginning from the 12th century, and becoming very common in the north by the 15th.

Three gifts are explicitly identified in Matthew: gold, frankincense and myrrh; in Koine Greek, these are chrysós (χρυσός), líbanos (λίβανος) and smýrna (σμύρνα).

The picture of the Magi on the 7th-century Franks Casket shows the third visitor – he who brings myrrh – with a valknut over his back, a pagan symbol referring to Death.

[64][65][66] The Syrian King Seleucus I Nicator is recorded to have offered gold, frankincense and myrrh (among other items) to Apollo in his temple at Didyma near Miletus in 288/7 BC,[67] and this may have been the precedent for the mention of these three gifts in Gospel of Matthew (2:11).

In a hymn of the late 4th-century Hispanic poet Prudentius, the three gifts have already gained their medieval interpretation as prophetic emblems of Jesus' identity, familiar in the carol "We Three Kings" by John Henry Hopkins, Jr., 1857.

One tradition suggests that Joseph and Mary used the gold to finance their travels when they fled Bethlehem after an angel had warned, in a dream, about King Herod's plan to kill Jesus.

Almost every Spanish city or town organises cabalgatas in the evening of 5 January, in which the kings and their pages parade and throw sweets to the children (and parents) in attendance.

In Spain, due to the lack of a black population until recently, the role of Balthazar has often been played by an actor in blackface; this practice has been criticized in the 21st century.

[75] Not only in Spain, but also in Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay, there is a long tradition of children receiving presents by the three Reyes Magos on the night of 5 January (Epiphany Eve) or on the morning of 6 January (Epiphany day or Día de Reyes), because it is believed that this is the day in which the Magi arrived bearing gifts for the Christ child.

"Three Magi Kings"; shortened to Tatlóng Harì or Spanish Tres Reyes) follows Hispanic influence, with the Feast of the Epiphany considered by many Filipinos as the traditional end of their Christmas season.

Also in Catholic parts of the German-speaking world, these markings are made by the Sternsinger (literally, "star singers") – a group of children dressed up as the magi.

[85] In Spain and Portugal, a ring-shaped cake (in Portuguese: bolo-rei[86]) contains both a small figurine of one of the Magi (or another surprise depending on the region) and a dry broad bean.

There is wide variation among the types of pastry that may be called a King Cake, but most are a baked cinnamon-flavoured twisted dough with thin frosting and additional sugar on top in the traditional Mardi Gras colours of gold, green and purple.

She took the remains to the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople; in 344, they were transferred to Milan—in some accounts by the city's bishop, Eustorgius I—where they were interred in a special tomb beneath its basilica.

[90] In 1162, following the conquest of the city by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, the Magi's remains were transferred to Cologne Cathedral at the behest of its archbishop, Rainald von Dassel.

A version of this account is conveyed by 14th century cleric John of Hildesheim in Historia Trium Regum ("History of the Three Kings"), which begins with the journey of Helena 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 Gaspar, 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.Most depictions of the Magi in European art focus on their visit to Jesus.

Sometimes only the lead king, kneeling to Christ, has a halo the two others lack, probably indicating that the two behind had not yet performed the act of worship that would ensure their status as saints.

In its composition it follows the oriental style, which renders a courtly scene, with the Virgin and Christ facing the spectator, while the Magi devoutly approach from the (left) side.

Intended to represent the "many connections between the Third Reich and the Christian churches in Austria and Germany",[93] Nazi officers in uniform stand around an Aryan Madonna.

Some Christmas carols refer to the biblical Magi or Three Kings, especially hymns meant to be sung by the star singers, such as "Stern über Bethlehem".