Were the Magi Zoroastrian?

[Prima]

Many people have heard this idea - the three wise men who in the Bible bring gifts to the baby Jesus were Zoroastrian priests, which shows that other religions recognized the baby as the Messiah. But is this true? What evidence is there?


At the time of Jesus's birth, Zoroastrianism was a familiar religion. It had earlier spread throughout Persia, Babylon, and Assyria. By this time, the inevitable syncretism had occured. A religion that mixed pagan, Mesopotamian, and Zoroastrian ideas had become popular.

But what about the word magi?
Words change. The Greek word used in the account is magos, which comes from magu/magush, which comes from the Median word magavan (priest) However, by this time, magus had come to mean several different things. Originally it referred solely to priests, and then to Zoroastrian priests. Then it came to refer to a priest who practiced a generally Zoroastrian religion (syncretist) After that, it meant one who practices astrology or sometimes divination/occult practices, because of the Zoroastrian practice of astrology. Naturally from that comes the meaning of a charlatan, the Ms Cleo of ancient times. The meaning in the Bible is clearly not that of a charlatan, because it has no negative connotations. So which of the other meanings does it refer to? The lack of evidence - only a few lines in one Gospel, a few obscure ideas, and a reference in Psalm 72. We have no indication of the background of these magi.

Three kings?
The Gospel passage does not say that there were three magi. Rather, this number is taken from Psalm 72. Three, however, does have meaning in Zoroastrianism. "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds"

Many other Zoroastrian symbols also follow this threefold symbolism, such as the three steps to the ancient Achaemenian fire-altar or the three windings of the kushti cincture

So, what were they like?

We don’t know. But we know what they weren’t! They probably did not look like our image – three different races, Asian, African, and Caucasian. This myth was created in Europe to show that people from all countries came to worship the Christ child. In reality, there is no clue as to where the magi were from. The general concensus is still that they were Persian, however. Their names were also not Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior:

A sixth-century Syrian source, cited by Zoroastrian scholar Dariush Jahanian, names the Three Kings as "Hormizdah king of Persia, Yazdegerd King of Saba, and Perozadh King of Sheba,"

These names are Persian in origin, however.



What do the gifts say?

The gifts they brought – gold, frankincense, and myrrh – say two interesting things. Similar to the number three, these gifts are also important in Zoroastrian tradition.

The frankincense which the Jewish/Christian authors interpreted as honor to Christ's divinity is also part of Zoroastrian worship: known as loban, frankincense is sprinkled on the embers of the Sacred Fire as a fragrant homage to the bright symbol of Ahura Mazda.

Also, the gifts of frankincense and myrr would be from Arabia or Yemen, not Persia.



Why were they looking for Jesus, anyway?

Well, we don’t know that they were. We don’t really know how they came to Jesus. Several scholars have suggested that they were looking for the Sashoyant, a figure in Zoroastrian tradition. The Sashoyant is considered to be a ‘bringer of good’ Whether the magi were looking for the Sashoyant, observing the stars, or were just plain lucky, we have little clue.





So the general idea is that there is no certain idea! Because of the spread of Zoroastrianism and the use of the word ‘magi’ there are far too many possibilities and too little solid evidence. We are sadly lacking in primary sources, which would lend vital clues to this mystery. Even the existence of a real star is debated – is it just a cute story, or was there truly a star? Or if the star isn’t still here, was there a star, or some bright object in the sky? Unfortunately, we will probably never know for sure.






Sources
http://www.gatha.org/en/magian-en.htm
http://www.farvardyn.com/shelagh.php
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/zoroastr.htm
http://www.starsnheaven.homestead.com/MagiStar.html
http://www.sullivan-county.com/z/3magi.htm

 

[Prima]

Thanks for your input, but this is either for educational purposes or for Zoroastrians to discuss.

 

[ashai]

Ushta Prima

Well ... Let me just say, that they certainly were not Orthodox Zoroastrians. Because at that time (Parthian Empire) Zoroastrians would have followed a purported prophecy of the Young Avesta ( latter Religion) which claimed there would be 3 Saviors coming at 1000 year intervals after Zarathushtra's death, They would all come from Helman Lake (Eastern Iran) they would all be born of virgins, and they would all be born of the miraculous preserved seed of Zarathushtra. No Orthodox Zarathushtrian much less a Mobed, or Magus(priest) would have been looking for a one Jewish savior born in Galilee or any where outside Eastern Iran.

So. there are 2 possibilities, either the writer of Mathew decided he nedded to give Jesus the support of Wise Men, well known in the ancient world or, a Zarathushtrian sect might have actually been looking at the stars. ( it is also highly unlikely that Orthodox Zarathushtrians would have been looking for an Omen in the starts, since they were to have been lookin at a specific date and location.)

There might be an additional clue in the Biblical text, however. You see, in the original (Koine Greek) when it reads in English that the Magii came from the East, the word East here is Anatolya, which, of course means East, BUT, it also means the peninsula of Anatolya, namely the peninsula were today stands most of Turkey!

interestingly, there are some scattered reports and hints on the few surviving records of the area, that might support such a theory. There was in Cappadoccia, a region in the central part of Anatolya, a sizeable Zoroastrian presence. Moreover these Zoroastrians practiced several things that were not orthodox. They made statues in the likeness of Good Mind, Serenity, Righteousness and other Zoroastrian concepts and had processions in their honor. Indeed, in the city of the Apostlke Paul , Tarsus, well into the 1st Century there were, at least, 2 Zoroastrian temples or what passed for them.

There is a possibility that a Zoroastrian Cappadoccian sect, might have been looking for a savior, outside Iran ( after all they were not Iranians) so there those are the two possibilities that I see.

Ushta te
Ashaii