Magi (redirected from Magoi)

Magi (mā`jī), priestly caste of ancient Persia. Probably Median in origin, they were, according to Herodotus, a tribe rather than a priestly family. Zoroaster is thought to have been a Magus. Study of the Magi is hampered by the lack of original source material. They are thought to have molded a pre-Zoroastrian religion, but nothing is known of it except by inference. After Zoroaster, Magian priests headed Zoroastrianism; the greatest was Saena. The Magi were revered by classic authors as wise men, and their reputed power over demons gave rise to the word magic. For the Magi of Mat. 2, see Wise Men of the East.

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Magi

The Adoration of the Magi, oil painting by Albrecht Dürer, 1504; …

(credit: Scala/Art Resource, New York)

In Christian tradition, wise men from the East who came to pay homage to the infant Jesus. According to Matthew 2:1–12, they followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem and brought gifts of “gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Herod asked them to report the location of Jesus' birth on their return journey, but an angel warned them of his evil intentions. In later Christian tradition they were said to be kings and were given the names Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar. Their visit was seen as evidence that the Gentiles as well as the Jews would worship Jesus, and it is celebrated in the feast of Ephiphany. See also magus.

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Magi 

priests in ancient Russia who practiced a pagan religious cult. It was believed that the magi could influence the forces of nature and foretell the future. The first mention of the magi is in the chronicles under the year 912, when it was reported that they prophesied the death of the Kievan prince Oleg. With the spread of Christianity in Rus’, paganism and the magi were persecuted by the state; as a result they participated in antifeudal movements. They led uprisings of peasants and townspeople in the 11th century in Suzdal, Kiev, and Beloozero.

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Magi 

priests and members of the priestly caste in ancient western Iran. In the writings of Herodotus, the Magi are a Median tribe. As Zoroastrianism spread in western Iran, the Magi became its priests, acknowledging Zoroaster as their prophet. Various dates have been given for the Magi’s conversion to Zoroastrianism, varying from the seventh century to the beginning of the fourth century B.C. The Magi introduced important changes into early Zoroastrianism, and the Zoroastrian teachings of the Parthian and Sassanid periods (third century B.C. to seventh century A.D.) are attributed to them. The Magi preserved the extant parts of the Avesta. The name “Magi” was also applied to priests of various non-Zoroastrian Iranian faiths that spread to Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, and other Oriental countries. During and after the Hellenistic period the name came to mean magicians, sorcerers, and astrologers and was the source of the word “magic.”