Wise men
The Wise Men of the East (or simply Wise Men) is the name by which the Christian tradition refers to the “wizards” —the name given to scholarly priests in the Ancient East—who, according to the Gospel of Matthew, after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, came from the East to pay him homage and give him gifts of great symbolic wealth: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In the canonical gospels, only the Gospel of Matthew speaks of these “wizards”, without specifying their names, nor that they were kings, nor that there were three. It was in the III century AD. C. when it was established that they could be kings, since until then, due to their gifts and the iconographies that represented them, they were only considered to be wealthy people. It was also in that century that their number was established at three, one per gift, since until then there were drawings with two, three or four magicians, and even the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church claimed that there were twelve, like the apostles. and the twelve tribes of Israel.
The current names of the three wise men, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, appear for the first time in the well-known mosaic of San Apollinaris the New (Ravenna) dating from the VI century AD. C., in which the three magicians dressed in the Persian style are distinguished with their names written above and representing different ages. Several centuries would still have to pass, until the XV century d. C., so that King Baltasar appears with a black complexion and the three kings, in addition to representing the ages, represent the three races of the Middle Ages. Melchor will play the Europeans, Gaspar the Asians and Baltasar the Africans.
In Spain, from the 19th century, the tradition began of converting the night of the Three Kings (the night before Epiphany) into a children's party with gifts for the children, in imitation of what was done in other countries on the day of Christmas, in homage to the oriental saint Saint Nicholas. It was in 1866 when the first Three Kings parade was held in Alcoy, a tradition that spread to the rest of the country and later to other countries, especially countries with Hispanic culture.
The word "magician" comes from the Persian ma-gu-u-sha, which means priest. It came to Greek as μάγος (magos, plural: μάγοι, magoi), referring to a caste of Persian or Babylonian priests, who studied the stars in their desire to seek God. From Greek it passed into Latin as magus, plural magi, /mágui/ from where it came to Spanish mago.
Mention in the Bible
The Catholic figure of the Magi has its origin in the accounts of the birth of Jesus, some were integrated from the canonical gospels that today make up the New Testament of the Bible. Specifically, the Gospel of Matthew is the only biblical source that mentions some magicians (although it does not specify the names, the number or the title of kings) who, after following a star, look for the "king of the Jews who was born" in Jerusalem, guiding said star to Jesus born in Bethlehem, and to whom they present offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah in the days of King Herod, the magicians came from the East to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the king of the Jews who has just been born?"Gospel of Matthew (2, 1-2), Queen-Valera version, 1960
And when they came into the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and fell down, and worshiped him; and they opened their treasures, and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.Gospel of Matthew (2, 11), Queen-Valera version, 1960
Although it seems contradictory that practitioners of magic (severely admonished in both the Old and the New Testaments) are admitted as worshipers of Jesus, it must be taken into account that the Greek term wizards was not used solely to refer to sorcerers. It is used, in this case, to refer to 'wise men' (as they are called in various versions of the Bible in English) or, more specifically, men of science. In fact, they also possessed knowledge of the Scriptures and have long been held to belong to Mazdaism.
Matthew does not specify that they are astrologers who knew precisely the movement of a star (2:7) despite this being the general belief. Although well-intentioned, his visit is a cause of general turmoil and arouses Herod's distrust (2: 3), since he saw the new Messiah as a rival. Despite being old and having already reigned for more than thirty years, Herod begs them to find out the precise place of the birth of the Messiah (2: 8) in order to be able to finish off his potential competitor. The wise men, who do not suspect this, find the Child, adore him and present gold, frankincense and myrrh (2:11). An angel warns the magicians of Herod's intentions (2:12), so they do not return to him. Angered, the king orders all children under two years old to be killed. By then, Joseph has been warned in a dream (2:13) that he must flee to Egypt with his people.
From this story, numerous legends have been created about the facts and the personality of these three figures.
Other interpretations
According to the interpretation of José Luis Sicre,[citation required] at the time the Gospel of Matthew was written there was an increase in pagan conversions to Christianity compared to those of the Jews themselves. The incursion of these fragments on the Magi from the East in the Gospel of Matthew underlines this fact and uses it as an argument for conversion: if those from outside come and adore him (convert) how can those of you who have him not realize it? ?.
There are also other[citation needed] astrological and cabalistic interpretations of the figure of the Magi.
According to the interpretation offered by Eric Rodríguez, we have the following:
The Greek term μάγος (literally “magicians”) had already fallen into pejorative or deteriorated usage since at least the 3rd century BC. C. (cf. Septuagint version) due to the extraction of its origin and cultural context, and that is how it is still used in New Testament times (cf. Acts of the apostles, 8:9, 13:6, 19:13). However, in the original Koine (Biblical Greek) text of Matthew 2:1 it says:
“... φδο... μγογοι φπ φνατολιν παρεγένοντο εροσόλυμα”. “... and here (a few) magicians from the East they were in Jerusalem.”Matthew (2:1)
Unlike the magicians who were already dispersed in the land of Israel and the entire Hellenic world, the emphasis used when saying "from the East" marks a change of connotation: the author seeks to bring to mind a character associated with the Orient, different from the conventional scholars of Israel (rabbis), who also knew the messianic prophecies and who was a biblical authority for the Jewish reader (since it is generally accepted that the Gospel of Matthew was written for Hebrews and still in the Hebrew language according to the testimony of almost all the fathers of the Church).
It must also be taken into account that the Orient can designate the region of Babylon, and therefore, for some authors, the magicians, could correspond to those called in Aramaic מדנחאי (Medinja'ey, “Babylonian doctors of the oral tradition") whose school would last until well into the eighth century AD in Babylon, and who knowing the interpretation of what was said in Numbers 24:17 (cf. Onqlós/Onkelos targum on this passage), would have been led by God to the Messiah. In this case the star would symbolize the Messiah himself according to contemporary midrashic language.
Ancient traditions that were not included in the Bible ―such as the so-called Gospel of Pseudo Thomas, or Infancy Gospel, from the 2nd century― are without however richer in detail. In that same apocryphal gospel it is said that they had some family ties, and also that they arrived with three legions of soldiers: one from Persia, another from Babylon and another from Asia (sic).
In the last book written by Pope Benedict XVI about Jesus of Nazareth, "The Childhood of Jesus", the Magi are mentioned in such a way that some have argued that they probably did not come from the East, but from Tartessos, a area that historians locate between Huelva, Cádiz and Seville (Andalusia, Spain). The text, however, says: "Just as the tradition of the Church has naturally read the Christmas story against the background of Isaiah 1:3, and in this way the ox and the donkey came to the manger, so too has read the story of the Magi in the light of Psalm 72:10 and Isaiah 60. And, in this way, the wise men of the East have become kings, and with them camels and dromedaries have entered the manger». This is recounted by Benedict XVI and continues: «The promise contained in these texts extends the provenance of these men to the extreme West (Tarsis, Tartessos in Spain), but tradition has further developed this announcement of the universality of the kingdoms of those sovereigns, interpreting them as kings of the three continents then known: Africa, Asia and Europe". In this regard, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, recalled that at no time did the Holy Father say that "the Magi were Andalusians, what the Pope explains is that the magicians were nothing more than seekers of the truth. They represented all men who were seeking God from all times and from all places, and that included the entire world known up to then and whose western limit was Tartessos, in the Iberian Peninsula”, he explains. When mentioning Tartessos, Benedict XVI refers to this geographical limit that the world had in the I century B.C. C, "the Magi are from the East but that in that concern to seek God are represented men seekers of God from all places and all times".
History and legend
The story narrated in the Gospel of Matthew tells that the wise men came from the East guided by a star, which led them to Bethlehem (hence the name of the star of Bethlehem).
Before arriving, they visited King Herod the Great in the city of Jerusalem, whom they questioned about the birth of the "King of the Jews." The monarch, after consulting the scribes versed in the Bible, assured them that the child should be born in the small town of Bethlehem, as established by Micah's prophecy. He cunningly added that, on his return, they should talk to him to give him news of the exact place where said child was and, thus, he too could go to worship him. In reality, according to the biblical account, his intention was to kill him.
In Bethlehem, the wise men saw the star again, found the newborn Jesus and worshiped him; offering him gold (representing his royal nature, as a gift conferred on kings), frankincense (representing his divine nature, used in worship), and myrrh (an embalming compound for the dead, representing Jesus' future suffering and death).. It seems that by bringing three gifts, it was taken for granted that there were three characters that brought them. Although also at some point the different traditions have indicated that there were four, seven and even twelve wizards. As antecedent, Seleuco I Nicator offered gold, incense and myrrh to Apollo in his sanctuary of Dídima, in 288 a. C.
On their return, the wise men warned by a dream of the king's intentions, they did not return to Jerusalem. Herod, then, ordered the death of all children under the age of two residing in Bethlehem, an episode known as the massacre of the innocents. A new heavenly message warned Joseph of the threat and he, taking Mary and Jesus, fled to Egypt.
The first time the name by which we know the Magi today appears is in the church of San Apolinar Nuovo, in Ravenna (Italy). The frieze of the image is decorated with mosaics from the middle of the 6th century that represent the procession of the Virgins. This procession is led by three characters dressed in the Persian style, wearing a Phrygian hat and their attitude is to go to offer what they carry in their hands to the Virgin who is seated on a throne and has the Child on her left knee.. Three names can be read above their heads, from right to left: Gaspar, Melchior, Balthassar...
Little by little, tradition has been adding other details by way of symbology: they have been made representatives of the three races known in antiquity, representatives of the three ages of man and representatives of the three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe).
The arrival of the Magi is a topic also covered in the apocryphal gospels. According to the esoteric tradition applied to Christianity, these characters came from the place where Prester John was.
Another legend tells that, after the resurrection of Jesus, the apostle Thomas found them in the kingdom of Sheba, where they were baptized and consecrated bishops by him. Later they were martyred in the year 70 and deposited in the same sarcophagus. Santa Elena went there to look for them, and she found three crowned bodies, assuming that they would be the Magi, so she transferred them to Constantinople. Later, Frederick I Barbarossa, in the 12th century, moved them to Cologne, Germany, where today they rest with the crowns they supposedly wore during their existence (according to tradition, the reliquaries with their gifts are in the monastery of San Pablo del Monte Athos). Thousands of pilgrims began to arrive in Cologne, which led to the construction of the Cologne Cathedral beginning in 1248, which would take more than 600 years to complete. Today it is one of the most impressive Gothic monuments in Europe. Cologne has become, along with Rome and Santiago de Compostela, one of the great centers of pilgrimage. Likewise, there are legends that speak of a fourth wizard king.
The names and number of the Magi
According to the various traditions of the wise men, the number of them varies; This is how you can find the following wise men:
- Three Wise Kings: While the Bible explains that there were three gifts given by the Magi to the Child Jesus, the first concrete reference to the number of Magi is given by Origen, a well-known ecclesiastical writer, in the third century. In the centuryVPope Leo I the Magnus officially established his number in 3 for all Christianity. In the middle of the centuryVIIn the church of San Apolinar Nuovo, in Rávena (Italy) they were assigned the names of "Melchor", "Gaspar" and "Baltasar", which supposedly amount in Greek to "Appellicon", "Amerin" and "Damascon" and in Hebrew to "Magalath", "Serakin" and "Galgalath". According to a legend, its remains are in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany, where the so-called Relicario de los Tres Reyes Magos is located.
- Twelve Magi Kings: The Armenians assume that it was 12, so they assign them twelve different names. These names are also not mentioned in the Bible.
Regarding the names of the kings (Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar) the first references seem to date back to the 5th century through two texts, the first entitled Excerpta latina barbari, in which they are called Melichior, Gathaspa and Bithisarea, and in another apocryphal gospel, the Armenian Infancy Gospel, where they are called Baltasar, Melkon and Gaspar.
The names are also different according to Syriac tradition: Larvandad, Gushnasaf and Hormisdas.
The wise men are also known as the Holy Kings.
Festivity
Over time, in countries with a Catholic tradition, the custom was adopted to celebrate the day of the Epiphany (January 6) and the feast of the Three Kings at the same time, thus conjugating the manifestation of Jesus to the world Jew with the party of these characters who represented precisely that world of Gentiles. Little by little, the true meaning of the word epiphany was forgotten and it became a synonym for adoration of the Magi.
January 6 is a holiday in Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia and Venezuela.
Customs related to the Three Kings
In some places, the authorities organize the so-called Cabalgata de Reyes on January 5, during which the characters are usually mounted on camels or horses, or else in floats, dressed in cloaks and crowns, instead of traditional clothing. Phrygian, totally unknown. In most places where the parade takes place, apart from the Three Wise Men, there are also floats with other themes and different characters, such as royal pages, children's characters and so on. The next day, January 6, is a national holiday. That day the children enjoy and recreate themselves with their gifts.
In Spain, tradition says that Christmas gifts for children are brought by the Three Wise Men on the night of January 5-6. Days before, the children must deliver a letter to the royal pages; these pages will act as messengers and will give them to the Magi. In this letter, the children list the gifts they want and adduce the merits they have done throughout the year to be deserving of such gifts. It is also a tradition that on the night of January 5, children leave their shoes somewhere in the house, next to the door, in a window; They even leave sweets or fruits to entertain the Three Kings and water or food for the camels. The next morning, in case of having behaved well during the past year, the longed-for gifts will be found there; On the contrary, if they have behaved regular, they will find sweet coal instead (an ugly-looking sweet but sweet, after all) and, finally, if they have behaved badly, they can directly find coal. January 6 is a holiday throughout Spain. The consumerist escalation has achieved that adults also receive gifts, sometimes using the invisible friend game. It is typical to have the Roscón de Reyes for breakfast, which in many places can be eaten the day before, for a snack or, as dessert, at dinner; usually with family. In Spain, these roscones usually contain a figurine, popularly known as "la sorpresa", and also a broad bean. Whoever touches the bean in their piece of roscón, will have to pay for the full bun.
In several Latin American countries there is a custom adopted from the Spanish that children receive gifts from the Three Kings, either on the eve, that is, at midnight on January 5, or on the morning of January 6 (Argentina, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Paraguay and Uruguay). The customs of the letter to the Kings and sweet coal instead of gifts have also been inherited. Most postal services accept these letters.
It is frequent that the royal pages or even the wise men directly appear in gift shops and shopping centers, where children have the opportunity to photograph themselves sitting on their knees and deliver the letter with their requests directly. The representation normally consists of a stage with thrones and the characteristic symbols, such as figures or drawings of camels, the star, a mailbox and oriental-looking ornaments. On the thrones is where the pages or the kings sit (in which case the page will be in charge of leading the children from where they wait with their parents to the kings and collecting the cards), usually they are characterized employees. Sometimes the three kings of the tradition are represented, but depending on the circumstances or the size of the stage, only one may be included.
In Mexico, on the night of January 5, a Rosca de reyes is eaten with chocolate, coffee or atole. Here is the second most important sanctuary in the world with respect to the Three Holy Kings, located in the city of Tizimín; being visited by thousands of people during the religious festivals in his honor, held at the end of December and beginning of January. It is also the oldest religious fair in the Mexican southeast.
In Puerto Rico, on the night of January 5th, children run around the yard collecting grass. They put the grass in a shoebox and place the box next to their bed. The grass is used to feed the camels. The kings then leave gifts in the boxes.
In Peru, giving gifts to children on this date has fallen into disuse. The customary celebration is called Bajada de Reyes, which consists of a family or community holding a small celebration while the Nativity is being dismantled. When it comes to a community, it is customary to leave money while the decorations and figures are removed. This tradition has even reached private companies, which carry out this celebration among its members.
Other customs on January 6
It is interesting to note that, at the time of Spanish colonization, especially in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Uruguay, this day was a holiday for the black slaves who went out to the streets to dance to the rhythm of their drums. This originates the name Pascua de los Negros with which the day is still known in some countries such as Chile or Paraguay where the Afro-Paraguayan community celebrates their saint's day (San Baltasar).
English-speaking countries dedicate January 6 to taking down Christmas decorations. This custom has also spread to Latin American countries, making January 6 the last day of the Christmas season. In the past, festivities were held for this reason and a cake was cooked in which a bean or a small silver coin was hidden. The person who found the bean or coin was named Jewish king or lord of disorder and was forced to take charge of the festivities that night. Over time, the festival evolved to include masked balls and theatrical performances. This tradition gave rise in Spain to the typical roscón de reyes (also called roscón de reyes in Latin America) which is eaten on that day and which hides a small surprise inside. In Mexico, said bagel has several small plastic dolls inside which represent the baby Jesus; that person who at the time of breaking the bagel finds one of them, is in charge of making or inviting tamales and atole on February 2, Candlemas Day.
In 1601, London lawyers commissioned Shakespeare to write a play called Twelfth Night and it was performed before Queen Elizabeth I.
In Colombia, in the city of Baranoa, Atlántico, every Three Kings Festival there is a staging of the Epiphany of the Three Kings and their journey to reach Bethlehem to adore Jesus, this is called the Loa De los Santos Reyes Magicians and is a centuries-old tradition that has been celebrated uninterrupted for more than 145 years, a play that has been declared Cultural Heritage of the department of Atlántico and is undergoing a bill in the Colombian Congress to declare it Cultural Heritage of the Nation.
Art
Since ancient times, the theme of the Three Wise Men has been the subject of representation by artists, painters and sculptors and also in literature. They have usually been portrayed in number of three; other times, four; and, exceptionally, in number of two. It is a theme abundantly covered throughout history.
It was not until the end of the XIV century that one of the black magicians began to be depicted, and only after The XVI century was when this way of representing them became general.
In the archivolts that frame the tympanum of the Romanesque doorway of the Church of Santo Domingo in Soria, from the 13th century, is one of the most unusual representations of the Magi in art. It is the so-called "dream of the Magi". In the representation, carved in stone, three bearded men are represented, with the same physical features and without a royal crown, lying upwards in representation of their dream and, next to them, the angel who, according to the Gospel of Matthew, warns them in dreams of Herod's intention to kill Jesus and that triggered the so-called massacre of the innocents (represented in the following archivolt).
Among the painters who represent the scene of the Adoration of the Magi, we can mention Andrea Mantegna, Botticelli, Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Bosch, Velázquez, Rubens, Dürer.
The Museo Nacional del Prado has 55 paintings that represent scenes from the adoration of the Magi.
Of course, cinema is no stranger to the figure of the Three Wise Men. From Ferdinand Zecca's Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (1907) to The Nativity (2006), numerous films have included these characters in some scene.
Monuments dedicated to the Three Kings
In the Plaza de los Reyes Magos in the Alicante town of Ibi there is a monument dedicated to the figure of the Three Wise Men of the East, so closely linked to the toy industry and strongly established in the town since the beginning of the century. XX. This monument, weighing 5.8 tons, was inaugurated on January 5, 1974 and is a limestone work by the Granada sculptor D. Aurelio López Azauste.
Another town that has also honored the figure of the Three Wise Men from the East is Juana Díaz, on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. This town is home to the most outstanding devotions in honor of the Three Wise Men, and as a tribute to the roots of this tradition among Puerto Ricans there are two monuments dedicated to the Three Wise Men:
- The oldest one located in the playground opposite the City Hall and the Catholic parish of San Ramón Nonato. This sculpture was erected by the Juanadino Pro Festejos de Reyes Council on January 6, 1986. It was the work of the Loma Naldo.
- The most recent is located near the intersection of the PR-149 highway and the Luis A. Ferré motorway (entry south to the town of Juana Díaz). It was erected by Juana Díaz City Council on December 24, 2000.
In Logroño on January 5, 2009, a sculpture representing them was inaugurated by characters who played the Three Wise Men in the roundabout next to the Las Gaunas Stadium, where they land by helicopter every January 5.
Names of people related to the Magi
In Spain, the number of people who have some related names can be obtained from the statistics provided by the National Institute of Statistics on its page Surnames and most frequent names. The following table shows some of these names:
| Name | Total | Men | Women | % men | % women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melchor | 3485 | 3485 | 0 | 100% | 0% |
| Gaspar | 6531 | 6531 | 0 | 100% | 0% |
| Baltasar | 4412 | 4412 | 0 | 100% | 0% |
| Total | 14418 | 14418 | 0 | 100% | 0% |
Additional bibliography
- Cardini, Franco (2001). The Magi Kings. Editions Peninsula. ISBN 978-84-8307-404-6.
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