CTT:The Three Gurus of Zeal
The Three Gurus of Zeal
Melchior: Guru of Life
Belthasar: Guru of Reason
Gaspar: Guru of Time
Full Names: Melchior, Belthasar, Gaspar (a.k.a. Old Man)
Symbolic Identities: Melchior, Balthazar, Gaspar
The Three Gurus of Zeal, each of which representing a vital aspect of existence, are quite similar to the three wisemen of the Bible. The three wisemen travelled far to reach the infant Jesus, to whom they each presented a gift.
First and foremeost, the exact names of the three wisemen in the Bible are the same as the names of The Three Gurus of Zeal: Melchior, Belthasar, and Gaspar (save the Belthasar/Balthazar slight differences). This is probably the most obvious of the numerous parallels in Chrono Trigger, and is sort of a red flag indicating to the player that there is a lot more to Chrono Trigger than what appears in the surface. This handy indicator did not exist in the original Japanese version of Chrono Trigger. The original names of the Three Gurus of Zeal were Hash, Bash, and Mash.
The three wisemen were led to the infant Jesus by a star. Upon finding Jesus, they each presented him with a gift. This is directly parallel to the Three Gurus of Zeal in Chrono Trigger meeting Crono (Jesus) because of the crisis of Lavos (Wormwood, the killer star of Revelations). Also notice than in the game, each of the Gurus present Crono's (Jesus's) party with a gift of great importance. Melchior: the Masamune. Belthasar: the Wings of Time. Gaspar: the Time Egg.
The three wisemen of the Bible were said to have travelled from the East to reach the infant, Jesus. Notice that in 1000 A.D., when Melchior is first encountered in the Millenial Fair, he mentions that he lives far to the east of Crono (Jesus) in Medina, which is indeed in the eastern most area of the world map. Belthasar's location in the era of 2300 A.D. is similarly in the Keeper's Dome, which is in the eastern
most portion of the world map. Finally, notice that Gaspar is located in the east portion of the small End of Time world, and that his Forest Shrine that contains all of his weaponry from 12,000 B.C. is also located in the eastern part of the world map.