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Who were the Wise Men from the East? Every year, a certain star is depicted on millions of Christmas cards. We sing about it in carols. Foil imitations of it shine down from the tops of Christmas trees and over Nativity scenes. But what exactly was the Star of Bethlehem? Is it just another myth, or did it really exist in the Judaean skies all those years ago? And what of the followers of this mysterious apparition? Who were the Three Wise Men from the East who are said to have followed the mysterious star? So let's have a look at these two intriguing features of the Christmas story. We'll start with the star, the famous Star of Bethlehem. It was recorded only by the apostle Matthew, and in the second chapter of his gospel, he tells us: 'Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him."' According to Matthew, Herod summons these Wise Men and tells them that if they should find the newborn king, they must return and tell him the child's whereabouts so that he, too, could go and worship him. Later, the Wise Men see the guiding star in the Eastern sky and it leads them to the little stable where the baby Jesus is sleeping, and to him they offered gifts. Then, being warned in a dream that they should not tell Herod, they went home by a different route. Theologians and scientists have argued over this star for centuries. In the seventeenth century, the German astronomer Kepler suggested that the star might have been nothing more than a conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter. This really upset the Christian world. However, astronomers now tells us that no such conjunction would have been visible in the skies over the Holy Land during the period around 5 or 6 BC, which is when the biblical scholars reckon this all happened. Since Kepler, many other scientists have tried to explain away the Star of Bethlehem as a natural phenomenon. Halley's Comet was suggested, but astronomers have calculated that the comet had been in view ten years before Christ's birth and, since it only comes around every 75 years, it could not have been seen at the vital period. Another theory proposed that the star was actually a 'supernova', a distant star that had exploded. Such stellar explosions do occur from time to time, and can be bright enough to be seen during the day for months. There is a record in ancient Chinese astronomical texts that around 4 BC. a star flared up in the constellation of Aquila the Eagle and was bright enough to be seen in daytime. And it has now been computed that, to anyone standing at the South Gate of Jerusalem, the brilliant star would have appeared to be over Bethlehem. A.J. Morehouse, the American scientist who uncovered this Chinese record, believes that the Star of Bethlehem is still in the sky, albeit very faint. Opponents of Morehouse's theory have pointed out that the supernova of 4 BC. occurred too late to be associated with the birth of Christ. Another problem with Morehouse's hypothesis is that, if the Star of Bethlehem was a supernova and was bright enough to be seen by day as well as by night, it surely would not have gone unnoticed by the inhabitants of Judaea? Moreover, a supernova cannot simply hover in the sky as the Star of Bethlehem was said to have done over the manger. Like every other celestial object, a supernova, however bright, will move steadily westward. So, despite all the conjecture and historical research, the truth about this star, the most enigmatic herald in history, still cannot be explained in astronomical terms. Just as shrouded in mystery as the star are the Wise Men who followed it. Who were they? Matthew simply states that they were 'wise men from the East', without specifying exactly from where or even from which country they came. And neither, contrary to popular belief, does he say they were kings or magi, nor that there were three of them. The fourth century frescoes in the Roman catacombs of St Peter and St Marcellinus, and the third century catacomb frescoes at St Domitilla all show four kings. And, not to be outdone, some medieval versions of the Nativity have 12 Magi! So who were these Wise Men? Some Biblical historians believe that the visitors to Bethlehem were most likely Babylonian Jews, but every culture has had its own theories about them. When Matthew said the sages were from the "East" he was talking about a vague region stretching from Aleppo in the north-west to present day Mosul in Iraq, which means there is a possibility that the Wise Men were not Jewish at all. Were the Gentiles expecting a saviour? The Roman poet Virgil (who died 19 years before Christ's birth) records the widespread expectation that a messianic-like individual in the not too distant future would come to rule a peaceful world. He also mentions that the birth of this long-awaited ruler of the Earth will be presaged by "a Golden Race which will spring up throughout the world". Curiously, the Roman poet also says that a "Virgin Lady" will figure in the new scheme of things. So, it would seem that the Gentiles were awaiting the arrival of a saviour as well as the Jews. Another centuries old theory associates the Wise Men with the Medes, an ancient race that settled near the Caspian Sea (which is to the east of Bethlehem even if it is a bit to the north as well) and established the nation of Medea. In the seventh century BC, the Medes, also Gentiles, spread south into an area to the east of the lower Tigris. Among the Medes, there were members of a priestly caste who followed the teachings of Zoroaster, the Persian teacher and prophet, (also known as Zarathustra), whose commandments were "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds", and these priests were credited with amazing occult powers. These Medean occultists were known as "Magi", a name now synonymous with the Wise Men of the Bible. "Magi" is merely the plural form of the word "magus" which means "sorcerer". (The word 'magic' is derived from the word 'magi'.) The Magi were identified with astrology, oneirology (the study of dreams), and the practice of the "hidden science", (also known as the 'Ancient Science' or the occult). Tradition claims that the three wise men were magi called Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. Legend says Melchior brought gold, the emblem of royalty; Caspar offered frankincense, in token of divinity; and Balthazar gave myrrh - as a symbol of death. Nothing seems to be known about what happened to these three characters until after they were dead and buried. Their final resting place is said to be Cologne Cathedral, where a plaque reads: "Having undergone many trials and fatigues for the gospel, the three wise men met at Sewa (now Sebaste in Armenia) in AD 54 to celebrate the feast of Christmas. Thereupon, after the celebration of Mass, they died. St Melchior on 1 January aged 116; St Balthazar on 6 January, aged 112; and St Caspar on 11 January, aged 109." The alleged remains were apparently discovered somewhere in the East in the fourth century and brought from Persia to Constantinople in 490AD by the Emperor Zeno. The relics later turned up in Milan. When the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa looted Italy in 1164, he took the remains of the three kings from their vault in San Georgio in Milan and gave them to Rainald von Dussel, the Chancellor and Archbishop elect of Cologne, telling him that the relics were a reward to the people of Cologne who had backed him in his fight against Pope Alexander III. And there they remain to this day. Bill Hutchings |
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page last updated 1 DECEMBER 2000 |
