Embodiments of Evil: Gog and Magog. Interdisciplinary Studies of the "Other" in Literature & Internet Texts

Description

Gog and Magog appear in the Book of Genesis, the Book of Ezekiel, the Book of Revelation, and the Qur'an. They are variously presented as men, supernatural beings (giants or demons), national groups, or lands. This thoughtful volume brings together eight essays describing how Gog and Magog, as archetypes of evil, have dwelt in our consciousness since their threatening appearance in the Bible and the Quran. Maps, literature and texts ranging from Medieval Europe, the Byzantine and Arab world, in Berber, Persian and Indonesian traditions, to contemporary internet texts: all use these imaginary monstrous creatures. The figures are constantly reinterpreted as the enemies of order change. Gog and Magog have been represented with dog heads and snake tongues. On the covers of contemporary Arab apocalyptic literature they are usually represented as giants or half-humans. In Europe W. P. Gerritsen / Gog and Magog in Medieval and Early Modern Western Tradition 9 W. J. Aerts / Gog, Magog, Dogheads and Other Monsters in the Byzantine World 23 In the Arab world F. C. W. Doufikar-Aerts / Dogfaces, Snake-tongues, and the Wall against Gog and Magog 37 R. Kruk / Gog and Magog in Modern Garb 53 A. Jaber / Is my firewall secure? Gog and Magog on the Internet 69 In the Berber tradition H. J. Stroomer / A note on Gog and Magog in Tashelhiyt Berber of South Morocc 81 In the Persian tradition A. A. Seyed-Gohrab, Unfathomable Evil: the Presentation of Gog and Magog in Persian Literature 91 J. G. J. ter Haar / Gog and Magog in Contemporary Shiite Quran-commentaries 109 In Javanese tradition E. Wieringa / Juja-Makjuja as the Antichrist in a Javanese End-of-Time Narrative 121