Magi, in Christian tradition, the noble pilgrims ‘from the East’ who followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the infant Jesus as king of the Jews. In Western Christianity, this event is celebrated at Epiphany on January 6th.
Gaspar, or
Casper, legendary figure, said to have been one of the Magi who paid homage to the infant Jesus. Although their names are not recorded in the biblical account, the names of three Magi Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa appeared in a chronicle known as the
Excerpta latina barbari in about the 8th century; they have become known most commonly as Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar (or Casper). According to Western church tradition, Gaspar is often represented as a king of India and is usually said to have given the gift of frankincense to the Christ Child. In art he is frequently depicted with a reddish beard. The three named Magi are venerated as saints and martyrs and are celebrated on the Feast of the Epiphany in the West.
SCALA/Art Resource, New York
The three are often venerated as saints and martyrs, and their supposed relics were transferred from Constantinople (modern Istanbul), possibly in the late 5th century, to Milan and thence to Cologne Cathedral in the 12th century. Devotion to the Magi was especially fervent in the Middle Ages, and they are some of the patron saints of travelers.
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The Adoration of the Magi i.e., their homage to the infant Jesus early became one of the most popular themes in Christian art, the first extant painting on the subject being the fresco in the Priscilla Catacomb of Rome dating from the 2nd century. In the Middle Ages the Adoration of the Magi was often associated with two other major events of Jesus’ life: his baptism, during which the voice of God publicly declared Jesus to be his son, and the wedding at Cana, at which he revealed his divinity by changing water into wi