magi
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This painting by the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone depicts the three magi, or ‘wise men’, visiting the baby Jesus. It also shows Halley's Comet, which may have given rise to the story of the star in the east that came to rest over Bethlehem. The European space probe that studied the comet on its most recent appearance in 1986 was named Giotto.
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The Adoration of the Magi (c. 1476) by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, depicting the arrival of the three kings at Christ's birthplace.
Priests of the Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia, noted for their knowledge of astrology. The term is used in the New Testament of the Latin Vulgate Bible where the Authorized Version gives ‘wise men’. The magi who came to visit the infant Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (the Adoration of the Magi) were in later tradition described as ‘the three kings’ – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.
| Over the centuries, the title of magus came to be applied to individuals believed to possess occult powers. Archimagus, or archimage, was used to denote a chief magician. |
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