In Christian tradition the Magi (Greek: μάγοι magoi), Three Wise Men, Three Kings or Kings from the east are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts. The Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2) is the only one of the four Gospels to mention them, stating that they came "from the east to Jerusalem" to worship the Christ, "born King of the Jews".
Because three gifts were recorded, there are traditionally said to have been three Magi, though Matthew does not specify their number.
The word Magi is a Latinization of the plural of the Greek word magos (μαγος pl. μαγοι). The term is a specific occupational title referring to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars, and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time a highly regarded science, only later giving rise to aspects of mathematics and astronomy. Their religious practices and use of astrological sciences caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic.
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 13:6-11, and is translated sorcery to describe Simon Magus in Acts 8:9-13. 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.