"Adoration of the Magi" by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770)

"Adoration of the Magi" by Corrado Giaquinto (1703-1766)

The Three Kings The Magi or Three Kings of the Orient, their names-Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar or Gaspar represent the three major races: Melchior, an old white man with a long white beard, bearing the gift of gold for Christ's royalty; Caspar, young and of darker hue, carrying incenses for Christ's divinity; and Balthasar, a black man, offering myrrh for Christ's suffering and death. The names of the wise men are not given in the Bible, but were supplied by later story tellers to enrich the meaning and celebration of the Epiphany. In the Gospel according to Matthew, "Noble pilgrims followed a guiding star to Israel to pay homage to the newborn Christ Child, bringing with them gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When the men reached Jerusalem, they asked King Herod the Great for assistance in finding the child. Herod asserted that he did not know where the child could be found, but he asked the men to return to his palace after they had seen the future ruler. Because of a warning in a dream, the men did not return to Herod, but departed into their own country another way." MATTHEW 2:1-12