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For other uses of Magi and Magus, see Magi (disambiguation)

The Magi (singular Magus, from Latin, via Greek μάγος ; Old English: Mage; from Old Persian maguš) was a tribe from ancient Media, (inhabitants of Persia), who were responsible for religious and funerary practices. Later they accepted the Zoroastrian religion, however, not without changing the original message of its founder, Zarathustra (Zoroaster), to what is today known as "Zurvanism", which received official sanction during the Median era (728–550 BC) and was the state religion of the Sassanid Empire (226–650 AD). No traces of Zurvanism exist beyond the 10th century AD.

The best known Magi are the "Wise Men from the East" in the Bible, whose graves Marco Polo claimed to have seen 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.

Etymology

Persian

The Greek word is attested from the 5th century BC (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 the priestly caste and tribe of the Medes (1.101) said to be able to 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 philosophers 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.

History in the Persian Empire

According to Herodotus i. 101, which lists the names of the six tribes or castes of the Medes, the Magi were a hereditary caste of priests of the Zurvanite religion that evolved out of Zoroastrianism. 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 BC - 300 AD), some Magi migrated westward, 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 Magi in India

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 (now extinct) Zurvanite brand of Zoroastrianism.

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.

Fictional magi

The archetype mage 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 generally portrayed as people who have the ability to control or wield the forces of magic. The term is popularly used in fantasy settings that involve magic. In the paper role-playing games, magic using individuals appear in Mage: The Ascension and Dungeons & Dragons. In the game Ars Magica, the main characters are known as magi. 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.

The British novelist John Fowles wrote two versions of a novel titled The Magus.

Many references to the three magi can be found in various games and shows. For example, in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime/manga series, a supercomputer (called "MAGI") is divided in three distinct parts, all of which are named after the Magi. Mages are people who have the ability to control or wield the forces of magic.

In the dystopian future setting of Warhammer 40,000, the title Magos is applied to certain high-ranking members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a mystical organization that has a monopoly on most forms of advanced technology within the Imperium of Man.

In the English translation of the video game Chrono Trigger, the three Gurus, of Life, Time, and Reason, are also named after the Magi and, through the course of the game, give key items to the player. Furthermore, one of the game's main characters is named Magus, and another Cyrus.

Mage is also the title of a comic book series created and owned by Matt Wagner. The series' central character, Kevin Matchstick, is drawn into a world of magic and Arthurian legends whilst wielding a mystic baseball bat.

The character John Constantine from the Hellblazer graphic novels is sometimes referred to as a magus.

In the 1999 movie The Mummy, the people who guard Imhotep's burial site are often mistakenly referred to as Magi; however, the term actually used is Medjay, an unrelated word used in ancient Egypt to refer to the bodyguards of a Pharaoh.

The Manga series Negima! Magister Negi Magi is the story of a young wizard in training to become a Magister Magi.

There is a Magus (called "Magus" or "The Magus") in early episodes of the television series Gargoyles.

The book of novus lists magus as the imperial lord of dragons.

External links

• The Majoos (Urdu)
• The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
• The Chaldean MagiThe Complete Online Library of Ancient Sources.

• Occult
• Astrologers
• Astrology
• Religion in India