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: article by Jona Lendering
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Magians
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A Magian, worshipping at
a fire
altar, Sasanian period
(British Museum)
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Magians
(Old Persian Maguš):
experts in Iranian religious
-probably: oral-
traditions, perhaps belonging to a
Median
tribe. They are to be distinguished from the priests.
Greek sources
When discussing the Magians of ancient Persia, one thing should be
clear
from the very start: Magians have nothing to do with magic or wizardry.
The confusion, however, is understandable or -in any case- very old. In
the sixth century BCE, the Greek philosopher
Heraclitus
of
Ephesus
directed his prophecies
against the wanderers of the night: the
Magians, the Bacchantes,
the Maenads and initiates. Heraclitus threatens them with tortures
after
death, he threatens them with fire, for what they believe to be
initiations
in the mysteries are in fact impious rites.
Heraclitus' threats are well chosen, because, as we will see below, the
Magians venerated fire and believed in rewards and punishments after
death,
which was a common religious idea in Iran.
This was the first time that the word 'Magians' was used
negatively.
Later authors lumped the expression together with words like
'charlatan'
and 'wizard' and gave the word the usual meaning. The famous
Macedonian
philosopher
Aristotle
of Stagira
(384-322), who had not spent part of his life in
Persia's
western territories for nothing, felt himself forced to state
explicitly
'that the Magians neither know nor practice sorcery' (
The
Magian
,
fr.36 Rose).
An older contemporary of the Macedonian philosopher, the
Athenian
author
Xenophon
(c.430-c.355), who visited the
Achaemenid
empire
in 401, calls the Magians experts 'in everything
religious'
(
Cyropaedia
8.3.11). He also knows that the Magians
sing hymns to
the rising sun and all known gods (8.1.23).
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Greek
sources
Persian
sources
History
of the Magians
Magians
after Alexander
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The relief at
Dukkan-e Daud
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But our most important Greek source is
Herodotus
of Halicarnassus
(c.480-c.425). In his
Histories
,
he mentions the Magians several times, usually in connection with
sacrifices.
As for ceremonial, when the Persians offer
sacrifice to the
deities [...], they erect no altar and kindle no fire. The libation,
the
flute music, the garlands, the sprinkled meal - all these things,
familiar
to us, they have no use for. But before a ceremony, a man sticks a
spray
of leaves, usually myrtle leaves, into his headdress, takes his victim
to some open place and invokes the deity to whom he wishes to
sacrifice.
The actual worshipper is not permitted to pray for any personal or
private
blessing, but only for the king and for the general good of the
community.
(The actual worshipper is not permitted to pray for any personal or
private
blessing, but only for the king and for the general good of the
community,
of which he is himself a part.) When he has cut up the animal and
cooked
it, he makes a little heap of the softest green-stuff he can find,
preferably
clover, and lays all the meat upon it. This done, a Magian -a member of
this caste is always present at sacrifices- utters an incantation over
it in a form of words which is supposed to recount the birth of the
gods.
Then after a short interval the worshipper removes the flesh and does
what
he pleases with it.
[Herodotus,
Histories
1.132;
tr. Aubrey de Selincourt]
Other instances where Herodotus mentions the Magians as sacrificers are
7.43 (libations at
Troy
), 7.113 (a sacrifice of white horses) and 7.191
(bloody offerings to sea gods). As we will see below, the sacrificial
practice
is also attested in Persian sources.
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Magian with barsom (sacred twigs)
from the
Oxus
treasury
(British Museum)
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Herodotus also mentions the Magians as interpreters of omens (7.37)
and dreams (1.107, 1.108, 1.120, 1.128, 7.19). Although the combination
of expertise on the subjects of sacrifice and dreams/omens is not
unusual
in the ancient Near East, our Persian sources do not confirm that the
Magians
were active in the second capacity. This may, however, be due to the
nature
of these Persian sources: administrative texts.
Herodotus also mentions two other customs.
There is a Persian practice concerning the
burial of the dead,
which is not spoken of openly and is something of a mystery: it is that
a male Persian is never buried until the body has been torn by a bird
or
a dog. I know for certain that the Magians have this custom, for they
are
quite open about it. The Persians in general, however, cover a body
with
wax and then bury it.
The Magians not only kill anything, except dogs
and men,
with their own hands but make a special point in doing so; ants,
snakes,
animals, birds - no matter what, they kill them indiscriminately. Well,
it is an ancient custom, so let them keep it.
[Herodotus,
Histories
1.140;
tr. Aubrey de S?lincourt]
The existence of the burial custom can be corroborated. In later times,
the
Zoroastrians
,
the adherents of the prophet
Zarathustra
,
exposed their dead to the vultures in large edifices called 'towers of
silence'. (As we will see below, the Magians were Zoroastrians.) The
killing
of animals may have taken place near the fire altars, which had to
remain
ritually pure.
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Fire altar (left) (from
W. Hinz,
Darius und die
Perser
,
1976;
?!!!
)
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Persian
sources
In
Persepolis
,
the administrative capital of the Achaemenid empire, a large archive of
administrative texts was found, the
Persepolis
fortification tablets
. They can be dated in the reign of king
Darius
I the Great
(522-486) and we learn that the Magians were as
accountants
and controllers involved in the administration. It was a common
practice
in the ancient Near East to use religious officials as admistrators as
well.
In these texts, the Magians are also mentioned in their
religious capacities:
they were responsible for the
lan
-sacrifice, for
which Darius allotted
every month 30 liters of barley or flour, fruits and 10 liters of wine.
It is the only type of sacrifice that is mentioned in connection to
Persepolis.
Because the king was involved, this sacrifice as
probably offered to
Ahuramazda
,
the only god mentioned in Darius' texts. He was the supreme god of the
Persians. In other words, the Magians -and not the priests- were
responsible
for the most important sacrifice in the state religion. This connection
between the Magians and the cult of Ahuramazda is also suggested by the
fourth-century philosopher known as pseudo-
Plato
,
who describes the teacher of young Persian noblemen:
He teaches the science of the Magians, owing to
Zarathustra
,
son of
Ahuramazda
.
It is in fact the worship of the gods.
[Ps.-Plato,
Alcibiades
122A]
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Magian performing a sacrifice on
a stela from
Dascylium
(
Arkeoloji M?zesi
, Istanbul)
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This short quote is interesting for another reason: it
connects the
activities of the Magians explicitly to Zoroastrianism (which is not
necessarily
the same as the cult of Ahuramazda). Since we are certain that Magians
were involved in the state religion, the words of pseudo-Plato suggest
that Zoroastrianism was the official cult of ancient Persia. This is,
however,
far from certain, and we should not rely too much on an author who
believes
that the prophet Zarathustra was the son of the god Ahuramazda.
The lan-sacrifice probably was a kind of fire sacrifice,
because the
Persepolis fortification tablets also call the Magians 'fire kindlers'.
The Greek geographer
Strabo
of Amasia
(64 BCE-c.23 CE) translates this as
pyrethoi
and is
a more explicit about this ritual.
In
Cappadocia
-for there the sect of the Magians, who are also called fire kindlers,
is large- they have fire temples [
pyrethaia
],
noteworthy enclosures;
and in the midst of these is an altar, on which there is a large
quantity
of ashes and where the Magians keep the fire ever burning. And there,
entering
daily, they make incantations for about an hour, holding before the
fire
their bundle of rods and wearing round their heads high turbans of
felt,
which reach down their cheeks far enough to cover their lips.
[Strabo,
Geography
15.3.15]
The lips were probably covered to prevent their breath to pollute the
fire.
How one can sing in this way, is one of the unsolved mysteries of
ancient
religion. From the holy book of Zoroastrianism, the
Avesta
,
we know that the felt turban is called
p?dam
and the sacred
twigs
barsom
.
Another interesting observation is that the Magians are
never mentioned
in connection to non-Iranian gods in the Fortification tablets. Their
only
activities seem to have been the lan-sacrifice to Ahuramazda on behalf
of the king and sacrifices to other Persian gods. Probably, the other
sacrifices
were similar to those described by Herodotus.
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Darius and Gaum?ta
(
?**
)
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History of
the Magians
According to Herodotus, there were already Magians at the court of
Astyages
,
the last leader of independent
Media
,
who was defeated by the founder of the Achaemenid empire,
Cyrus
the Great
(550 BCE). There is no reason not to believe this
story,
especially since there are two indications that the Magians were
considered
to be Medes. The first is a brief remark in Herodotus'
Histories
that the Magians were a Median tribe (1.101). If this is correct, we
may
assume that this tribe was comparable to the Jewish Levites, who were
also
involved in religious duties.
The second indication is the special status of the
Median city
Rhagae
(near modern Tehran), which was regarded by the Zoroastrians as one of
Ahuramazda's
special creations and was governed by a Zoroastrian leader. The Arabian
geographer Y?q?t ar-R?m?
(1179-1229 CE), writes
about this town and identifies the Zoroastrian leader with the first
among
the Magians.
Ust?n?wand [near Rhagae] is
said to have been in
existence for more than three thousand years, and to have been the
stronghold
of the
Masmogh?n
of the land during the
times of paganism.
This word, which designates the high priest of the Zoroastrian
religion,
is composed of
mas
, 'great', and
mogh?n
,
which means
'Magian'.
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Magians performing a sacrifice on
a stela from Dascylium (Arkeoloji M?zesi, Istanbul)
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These two indications, however, are not very strong and
we should not
put too much weight on them.
In the spring of 522 BC, a Magian with the name
Gaum?ta
attempted a coup d'?tat in the Achaemenid empire. He was
successful.
The lawful ruler
Cambyses
died and for some time he was sole ruler of the empire. It is not known
what caused his rebellion, and we are probably wrong to assume a
religious
motive behind the coup. There is simply not enough evidence to prove
anything.
A relative of
Cambyses, Darius (who also belonged
to the
Achaemenid
dynasty), and six Persian noblemen killed the Magian (29 September
522).
The murderer became king.
The
anniversary of this day has become
a red-letter day in the Persian calendar, marked by an important
festival
known as the
Magophonia
, or Killing of the Magian,
during which
no Magian is allowed to show himself. Every member of the caste stays
indoor
till the day is over.
[Herodotus,
Histories
3.79;
tr. Aubrey de S?lincourt]
Probably, it is the other way round. The murder took place during a
festival
during the month
B?gay?diš
,
a name that was misunderstood by Herodotus (hearing
M?guy?diš
,
'killing of Magians').
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A Magian. Relief from the
Museum
for Anatolian Civilizations
, Ankara
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The evidence of the Persepolis fortification tablets and the Greek
authors allows us to give a description of the role of the Magians in
the
next two centuries. They were usually at the royal court, were employed
in the bureaucracy, brought fire sacrifices and performed other
ceremonial
duties, accompanied the king on his campaigns and may have been
consulted
as interpreters of dreams and omens. If their position and function
changed,
our sources are insufficient to document it. The archaeological
evidence
suggests the spread of Iranian cults to Anatolia, and we may assume
that
there were Magians in Anatolia as well. One little relief, today in the
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, represents a Magian, but the author
of this article was unable to find more information about it.
In the winter of 331/330, the Macedonian king
Alexander
the Great
invaded Persia, and during the next months, he put
an end
to reign of the Achaemenid dynasty. Our Greek sources mention Magians
at
Alexander's court and we may asume that they were performing the usual
incantations, prayers and sacrifices. This proves that there was
collaboration
between at least some Magians and the conqueror.
However, it is equally certain that Alexander destroyed
Zoroastrian
sanctuaries, persecuted priests and destroyed religious writings.
According
to one source, the '
accursed
Alexander
' also 'slew those who went in the garments of
Magians' (go
here
for three texts on the subject). It seems that many Zoroastrians went
to
Drangiana
where they taught each other what they remembered of the correct
rituals.
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Christian representation
of the Magi. (
Museo nazionale
della civilt? romana
,
Roma;
?**
)
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The
Magians after Alexander
The conquests of Alexander did hardly improve western knowledge of
eastern
religion.
In Greek and Latin
sources, the Magians
became simply the representatives of the eastern cults
par
excellence
,
and nobody was interested in the difference between a Magian, a Brahman
and a
Chaldaean
- they were all the same, although it was known that they were from
three
different countries, Persia, India and
Babylonia
.
But their activities seemed interchangeable, at least from the first
century
CE onward. Therefore, the 'wise men' mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew
are called Magians, although the correct term for people observing
celestial
omens would have been Chaldaeans, mathematicians or astrologers (
Chaldaioi
,
mathematikoi
or
astrologoi
).
Meanwhile, in the
east, the Magians played a role
of some importance in the
Parthian
empire
(but there is
hardly any information about
it). In the third century, the Parthians were defeated by the Persians,
who founded a second empire.
The
Sasanian
king Ardašir conferred many privileges to the
Magians
,
who gained great political power. For example, they played a role in
the
inauguration ceremony in
Ctesiphon
and served as judges and tax collectors.
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