In Christian tradition the Magi, also known as the Three Wise Men, The Three Kings, or Kings from the east - although it is not said in the Bible how many Magi there really were - are sometimes considered to be Median, perhaps Iranian Zoroastrian priests, who were also proficient in astrology from Ancient Persia. The Gospel of Matthew states that they came "from the east to Jerusalem" to worship the Christ, "born King of the Jews". According to Matthew, they navigated by following a star which came to be known as the Star of Bethlehem. As they approached Jerusalem, Herod tried to trick them into revealing where Jesus was, so that he might be put to death. Upon finding Jesus, the Magi gave him three highly symbolic gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Because three gifts were recorded, there are traditionally said to have been three Magi, though Matthew does not specify the number.
The Magi were then warned in dreams that revealed Herod's deadly intentions for the child and decided to return home by a different route, in order to thwart them.
The KJV translation as wise men may be somewhat politically motivated: the same word is translated as sorcerer to condemn "Elymas the sorcerer" in Acts 13, and is translated sorcery to describe Simon Magus in Acts 8. Treating Simon Magus as being as wise as the Magi that visited Jesus could be viewed as heresy — Simon Magus was considered by many Christians as the founder of Gnosticism, a Christian group condemned as arch-heresy. It is unlikely that the New Testament would deliberately refer to Simon Magus in glowing terms; the name of the canonical crime of simony derives from the name of Simon Magus.
