..... Click the link for more information. 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 Wise Men of the East, Magi, or Three Kings, men who came from the East to adore the newborn Jesus. Mat. 2. They were the first to tell Herod of the birth. A star (the Star of Bethlehem) had been a sign for them.
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Magi
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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.
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.”
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