The+Magi


 * Background Story: **

Three wise men come to King Herod when Jesus is born and ask him where he can be found, so they can worship him. Troubled, King Herod asks his scribes and prophets of where the child is to be born, and they reply that he will be born in Bethlehem. The King talked to the wise men and made certain when the star that they should follow would appear. The men go to search for Jesus and rejoice upon seeing the star. They give Jesus three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh and are then warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they return to their country of origin.

*This story could perhaps detail the rewards of successfully taking a long journey to accomplish a goal.


 * Allusions: **


 * Painting || * Seen to the right: "The Adoration of the Magi"- Jacob Jordaens ||
 * Poem || * " Journey of the Magi" - T. S. Elliot ||
 * Novel || * "The Spy Who Came for Christmas"- David Morrell
 * "Unholy Night"- Seth Graham-Smith ||
 * Short Story || * "The Other Wise Man"- Henry Van Dyke ||

Allusions to the Journey of the Magi are typically instances of the pattern of multiple people (most likely 3) taking a long journey to reach a specific destination. Just as in the bible, they could be possibly bringing gifts or other valuables with them. Additionally, they could be described as being old or wise, just as the three men in the bible are.

** Journey of the Magi ** T. S. Elliot 'A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.' And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory, Lying down in the melting snow. There were times we regretted The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces, And the silken girls bringing sherbet. Then the camel men cursing and grumbling and running away, and wanting their liquor and women, And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters, And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly And the villages dirty and charging high prices: A hard time we had of it. At the end we preferred to travel all night, Sleeping in snatches, With the voices singing in our ears, saying That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley, Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation; With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness, And three trees on the low sky, And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow. Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel, Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver, And feet kiking the empty wine-skins. But there was no information, and so we continued And arriving at evening, not a moment too soon Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember, And I would do it again, but set down This set down This: were we led all that way for Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.

Dyke, Henry Van. //The Other Wise Man //. Fort Worth, Tx.: Brownlow, 1989. Print.

Elliott, Thomas Stearns. "Journey of the Magi" All Poetry. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014

Grahame-Smith, Seth. //Unholy Night //. New York: Grand Central Pub., 2012. Print. Jordaens, Jacob. //The Adoration of the Magi //. 1657. Oil on canvas. N.p. //Matthew. The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version//. New York: World, 1962. Print.

Morrell, David. //The Spy Who Came for Christmas //. New York, NY: Vanguard, 2008. Print.