Magi: Difference between revisions
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*{{citation|last=Lendering|first=Jona|title=Magians|location = Amsterdam|publisher=livius.org|date=2006|url=http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/magians/magians.html}}. |
*{{citation|last=Lendering|first=Jona|title=Magians|location = Amsterdam|publisher=livius.org|date=2006|url=http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/magians/magians.html}}. |
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*[http://gatesofnineveh.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/magi-from-the-east/ "Magi from the East"] at ''Gates of Nineveh'' |
*[http://gatesofnineveh.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/magi-from-the-east/ "Magi from the East"] at ''Gates of Nineveh'' |
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*[http://www.paradoxplace.com/Church_Stuff/Christian_Themes/The_Magi.htm The Magi in Medieval Mosaics, Sculptures, Tympanums and Art] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704163709/http://www.paradoxplace.com/Church_Stuff/Christian_Themes/The_Magi.htm The Magi in Medieval Mosaics, Sculptures, Tympanums and Art] |
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*[http://www.fourfoldpath.org The Ancient Order of the Culdees of Iona] |
*[http://www.fourfoldpath.org The Ancient Order of the Culdees of Iona] |
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Revision as of 19:53, 21 January 2018
Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/; singular magus /ˈmeɪɡəs/; from Latin magus) denotes followers of Zoroastrianism or Zoroaster. The earliest known use of the word Magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Persian texts, pre-dating the Hellenistic period, refer to a Magus as a Zurvanic, and presumably Zoroastrian, priest.
Pervasive throughout the
In Median sources
The Avestan word magâunô, i.e. the religious caste of the Medes, (see Yasna 33.7: ýâ sruyê parê magâunô "so I can be heard beyond Magi"), seems to be the origin of the term.
The term only appears twice in Iranian texts from before the 5th century BCE, and only one of these can be dated with precision. This one instance occurs in the trilingual
The other instance appears in the texts of the
An unrelated term, but previously assumed to be related, appears in the older Gathic
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."[2]cf[3]
In Greek sources
The oldest surviving Greek reference to the magi – from Greek μάγος (mágos, plural: magoi) – might be from 6th century BCE
Better preserved are the descriptions of the mid-5th century BCE
Other Greek sources from before the
In Chinese sources
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Cross-Potent-Heraldry.svg/200px-Cross-Potent-Heraldry.svg.png)
Victor H. Mair provides archaeological and linguistic evidence suggesting that Chinese wū (巫 "shaman; witch, wizard; magician", Old Chinese *myag) was maybe a loanword from Old Persian *maguš "magician; magi".[5] 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).[5]
These figurines, which are dated circa 8th century BCE, were discovered during a 1980 excavation of a
Mair connects the ancient
Compared with the
In Graeco-Roman sources
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Magi_%281%29.jpg/250px-Magi_%281%29.jpg)
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 or her 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 BC, 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 Greeks' image of Zoroaster would metamorphose into a magician too.
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"
In Semitic sources
In Arabic texts, as in Greco-Roman tradition, Zoroaster is "founder" of the magians, Arabic majusya.
In the 1980s, under the secular Ba'ath Party formerly led by Saddam Hussein, among the many propaganda campaigns of Iraq, the term majus was used during the Iran–Iraq War as a generalization of all modern-day Iranians. "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."[8]
In Christian tradition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Adoracao_dos_magos_de_Vicente_Gil.jpg/300px-Adoracao_dos_magos_de_Vicente_Gil.jpg)
The word mágos (Greek) and its variants appears in both the
The Gospel of Matthew states that magi visited the infant Jesus shortly after his birth (2:1–2:12). The gospel describes how magi from the east were notified of the birth of a king in Judaea by the appearance of his star. Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, they visited King Herod to determine the location of the king of the Jews's birthplace. Herod, disturbed, told them that he had not heard of the child, but informed them of a prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. He then asked the magi to inform him when they find the infant so that Herod may also worship him. Guided by the Star of Bethlehem, the wise men found the baby Jesus in a house; Matthew does not say if the house was in Bethlehem. They worshipped him, and presented him with "gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh." (2.11) In a dream they are warned not to return to Herod, and therefore return to their homes by taking another route. Since its composition in the late 1st century, numerous apocryphal stories have embellished the gospel's account. Matthew 2:16 implies that Herod learned from the wise men that up to two years had passed since the birth, which is why all male children two years or younger were slaughtered.
In addition to the more famous story of
One of the non-canonical Christian sources, the Syriac Infancy Gospel, provides, in its third chapter, a story of the wise men of the East which is very similar to much of the story in Matthew. Unlike Matthew, however, this account cites Zoradascht (Zoroaster) as the source of the prophecy that motivated the wise men to seek the infant Jesus. [11]
In the Quran (Islamic tradition)
Although some Islamic scholars have inferred an implicit reference, the Qur'an mentions the 'Majūs' or 'Magus' or Magians (المجوس) explicitly only once:
Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Sabians, and the
Nasrani, and the Magians, and those who associate [others with God] – surely God will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection. Lo! God is a witness over all things.— The Qur'an 22:17
See also
- Anachitis – "stone of necessity" – stone used to call up spirits from water, used by Magi in antiquity.
- Epiphany (holiday) – a Christian holiday on January 6 marking the epiphany of the infant Jesus to the Magi.
- Fire temple
References
- ^ Matthew 2 in Greek
- ^ a b Boyce, Mary (1975), A History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. I, Leiden: Brill, pp. 10–11
- ^ doi:10.1086/371754, p. 36.
- ^ a b c Zaehner, Robert Charles (1961), The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, New York: MacMillan, p. 163.
- ^ a b Mair, Victor H. (1990), "Old Sinitic *Myag, Old Persian Maguš and English Magician", Early China, 15: 27–47.
- ^ a b c Beck, Roger (2003), "Zoroaster, as perceived by the Greeks", Encyclopaedia Iranica, New York: iranica.com.
- ^ Beck, Roger (1991), "Thus Spake Not Zarathushtra: Zoroastrian Pseudepigrapha of the Graeco-Roman World", in Boyce, Mary; Grenet, Frantz (eds.), A History of Zoroastrianism, Handbuch der Orientalistik, Abteilung I, Band VIII, Abschnitt 1, vol. 3, Leiden: Brill, pp. 491–565, p. 516.
- ^ Al-Marashi, Ibrahim (2000). "The Mindset of Iraq's Security Apparatus" (PDF). Cambridge University: Centre of International Studies: 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-11.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Gospel of Matthew2:1–12:9; 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).
- ^ Drum, W. (1910), "Magi", The Catholic Encyclopedia, New York: Robert Appleton Company
- ^ Hone, William (1890 (4th edit); 1820 (1st edition)). "The Apocryphal Books of the New Testament". Archive.org. Gebbie & Co., Publishers, Philadelphia. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
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External links
- Lendering, Jona (2006), Magians, Amsterdam: livius.org.
- "Magi from the East" at Gates of Nineveh
- The Magi in Medieval Mosaics, Sculptures, Tympanums and Art
- The Ancient Order of the Culdees of Iona