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The Holy Epiphany - by Lwis Williams
While oftentimes conflicting lore muddles the story of the Magi, those bearing gifts for the Christ child
are Caspar of Tarsus, Melchior of Persian and Balthasar of Saba.
Weary from desert travel, the Magi humbly offer their gifts. Caspar is young, European and offers gold. Gold finances the Holy Family's coming
flight to Egypt and also symbolizes Christ's immortality and purity. For his generosity, Caspar receives the gifts of charity
and spiritual wealth. Melchior is middle-aged, Persian and offers myrrh. Myrrh is a fragrant gum, which the ancient Israelites believed to
strengthen children. This symbol of Christ's mortality was blended with wine and offered to him on the cross, and also mixed
with aloes to wrap his body for the tomb. Melchior receives the gifts of humility and truth. Balthasar is elderly, Ethiopian
and offers frankincense. Frankincense is a resin used in incense for worship and also symbolizes prayer and sacrifice.
Balthasar receives the gift of Faith. And Christ, humbling himself to become man, offers us the greatest gift of all, the light that forever burns in the darkness.
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The Magi, revisited Another translation of Marco Polo's classic By H. Behzadi May 28, 2002 The Iranian |
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We (or at least I) could never understand what the clerics were on about, as they
seemed to speak in a foreign language. Those who have read Jamalzadeh's short but
very witty ingenuous piece "Farsi Shekar Ast" ("Persian Is Nectar")
will know what I mean. They seemed to pride themselves into making the subject at
hand totally uninteresting and arcane. And to a child they were dangerous as they
were liable to fail you in "Feqh". IMagine the risk of losing those beautiful
summers having to study for a Religious Studies re-sit.
I know even less about Christianity and it wasn't till
my daughter started school run by the local church in the suburbs of London, chosen
mainly for its proximity and better reputation that I had any proper exposure to
it. Don't worry! This is not an attempt to convert you. The religious schools in
England are very popular with the immigrant communities, non-religious and even non-believers.
They are chosen solely because of their reputation for better discipline, smaller
class sizes and higher standard of learning. In some ways it shows up something of
the double standard by these groups and I have often wondered why the school organisers
tolerate it. Some Catholic schools now insist on at least one parent being Catholic
and the local priest confirming regular worship before acceptance.
One of the stories the kids become familiar with from an early age is the story of
three Magi (or the three Kings) who foresaw the birth of Christ and went on a pilgrimage
to see the newly born baby Jesus. My mother, god bless her soul, was kind of funky
with a surreal aspect to her character. She had a habit of sometimes dropping and
boring you (that is how it seemed to me then) with "pearls of wisdom" either
totally unrelated to the subject of conversation or what you were up to at the time
(like trying to find an excuse to get out of the house to play football in the street
or to spy on the girls in the neighbourhood).
The funny thing was that she never liked anyone else doing the same to her and
if she was concentrating, say reading a good book, the only response you could ever
get would be a 'hmmm'. You could shout and scream about the house being on fire but
if she was reading a particularly good novel, 'hmmmm' meaning: "don't bother
me kid; let whatever is happening, happen without me."
Just after my mother moved to England I have a vague recollection of her dropping
one of these pearls of wisdom without any solicitation on my part about the three
Magi, according to her the the three Magi must have been Iranian as Magi must be
the same as "mogh" in Persian meaning Zoroastrian priests, being young
and not interested in these matters I never really paid attention.
I recently read "The
Travels" of Marco Polo translated by Ronald Latham for Penguin Classics
and the first story Marco Polo relates about Persia proper is about the three Magi.
The Iranian published an excerpt from another
translation in 1997 but I prefer the Penguin version as it is a better translation
and Ronald Latham has used modern names where it has been possible to make a match.
Thanks to the Internet I also found the story as it appears in the Bible in
the Testament of Matthew.
Marco Polo's version relates the version of the story prevalent in Iran in the
middle of the 12th century with specific references to places in Iran making it very
interesting reading. I also looked up Magi in the dictionary and learnt that it is
indeed plural for magus, meaning "a: a member of a hereditary priestly class
among the ancient Medes and Persians; b often capitalized : one of the traditionally
three wise men from the East paying homage to the infant."
Here is the Ronald Latham translation:
In Persia is the city called Saveh, from which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Jesus Christ. Here, too, they lie buried in three sepulchres of great size and beauty. Above each sepulchre is a square building with a domed roof of very fine workmanship. The one is just beside the other. Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and beards. One was named Beltasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior.
Messer Marco asked several of the inhabitants who these Magi were; but no one could tell him anything except that they were three kings who were buried there in days gone by. But at last he learnt What I will tell you.
Three days farther on, he found a town called Kala Atashparastan, that is to say Town of the Fire-worshippers. And that is no more than the truth; for the men of this town do worship fire. And I will tell you why they worship it. The inhabitants declare that in days gone by three kings of this country went to worship a new-born prophet and took with them three offerings -gold, frankincense, and myrrh - so as to discover whether this prophet was a god, or an earthly king or a healer. For they said : 'If he takes gold, he is an earthly king; if frankincense, a god; if myrrh, a healer.'When they had come to the place where the prophet was born, the youngest of the three kings went in all alone to see the child. He found that he was like himself, for he seemed to be of his own age and appearance. And he came out, full of wonder. Then in went the second, who was a man of middle age. And to him also the child seemed, as it had seemed to the other, to be of his own age and appearance. And he came out quite dumbfounded. Then in went the third, who was of riper years; and to him also it happened as it had to the other two. And he came out deep in thought. When the three kings were all together, each told the others what he had seen. And they were much amazed and resolved that they would all go in together.
So, in they went, all three together, and came before the child and saw him in his real likeness and of his real age; for he was only thirteen days old. Then they worshipped him and offered him the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh. The child took all three offerings and then gave them a closed casket. And the three kings set out to return to their own country.
After they had ridden for some days, they resolved to see what the child had given them. They opened the casket and found inside it a stone. They wondered greatly what this could be. The child had given it to them to signify that they should be firm as stone in the faith that they had adopted. For, when the three kings saw that the child had taken all three offerings, they concluded that he was at once a god, and an earthly king, and a healer. And, since the child knew that the three kings believed this, he gave them the stone to signify that they should be firm and constant in their belief.The three kings, not knowing why the stone had been given to them, took it and threw it into a well. No sooner had it fallen in than there descended from heaven a burning fire, which came straight to the well into which it had been thrown. When the three kings saw this miracle, they were taken aback and repented of their throwing away the stone; for they saw clearly that its significance was great and good. They immediately took some of this fire and carried it to their country and put it in one of their churches, a very fine and splendid building.
They keep it perpetually burning and worship it as a god. And every sacrifice and burnt offering which they make is roasted with this fire. If it ever happens that the fire goes out, they go round to others who hold the same faith and worship fire also and are given some of the fire that burns in their church. This they bring back to rekindle their own fire. They never rekindle it except with this fire of which I have spoken. To procure this fire, they often make a journey of ten days.
That is how it comes about that the people of this country are fire worshippers. And I assure you that they are very numerous. All this was related to Messer Marco Polo by the inhabitants of this town; and it is all perfectly true. Let me tell you finally that one of the three Magi came from Saveh, one from Hawah, and the third from Kashan.
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Christ and the Persian magi
Marco Polo on Persia's "Christian" fire worshippers |
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From Chapter XI (Of the province of Persia) of Marco Polo's "The Travels; The Description of the world" written in 1298. This translation is by William Marsden, revised by Thomas Wright (Konemann Travel Classics, Koln, Germany, 1996).
Persia was anciently a large and noble province, but it is now in great part destroyed by the Tartars. In Persia there is a city which is called Saba, from whence were the three magi who came to adore Christ in Bethlehem; and the three are buried in that city in a fair sepulchre, and they are all three entire with their beards and hair. One was called Baldasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior.
Marco inquired often in that city concerning the three magi, and nobody could tell him anything about them, except that the three magi were buried there in ancient times. After three days' journey you come to a castle which is called Palasata, which means the castle of the fire-worshippers, and it is true that the inhabitants of that castle worship fire, and this is given as the reason.
The men of that castle say, that anciently three kings of that country went to adore a certain king who was newly born, and carried with them three offerings, namely, gold, frankincense, and myrth: gold, that they might know if he were an earthly king; frankincense, that they might know if he were God; and myrth, that they might now if he were a mortal man.
When these magi were presented to Christ, the youngest of the three adored him first, and it appeared to him that Christ was of his stature and age. The middle one came next, and then the eldest, and to each he seemed to be of their own stature and age. Having compared their observations together, they agreed to go all to worship at once, and then he appeared to them all of his true age.
When they went away, the infant gave them a closed box, which they carried with them for several days, and then becoming curious to see what he had given them, they opened the box and found in it a stone, which was intended for a sign that they should remain firm as a stone in the faith they had received from him.
When, however, they saw the stone, they marvelled, and thinking themselves deluded, they threw the stone into a certain pit, and instantly fire burst forth in the pit. When they saw this, they repented bitterly of what they had done, and taking some of the fire with them they carried it home.
And having placed it in one of their churches, they keep it continually burning, and adore that fire as a god, and make all their sacrifices with it; and if it happen to be extinguished, they go for more to the original fire in the pit where they threw the stone, which is never extinguished, and they take of none other fire. And, therefore, the people of the country worship fire.
Marco was told all this by the people of the country; and it is true that one of those kings was of Saba; and the second was Dyava, and the third was of the castle.
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