Eschatology East and West : Millennium, Madness and Mayhem

Phrases like "end of world," "end of civilization," "end of humanity" conjure up destruction and fear, from medieval tales of flagellants during the plague to Hollywood B-movies featuring cataclysmic destruction by asteroid, and even 24 hour a day coverage of baseless fears about the Y2K computer bug. Where and when did these fears emerge Are they relatively modern or do they stretch back to antiquity? Most papers in this volume were first presented at a conference in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia, Millennia, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Eschatology in the Western Tradition, 5-6 May 2000. The goal was to examine end times from a multidisciplinary and cultural historical perspective with as wide a scope as possible, including papers on ancient history, classical philology, near eastern archeology, biblical studies, art history, and Jewish studies. The original impetus was the dawn of a new millennium. Continued news and fears around recent events in the Middle East, the tragedy of September 11th, and fears of outbreaks of diseases like smallpox and Ebola make it evident that anxieties felt about the millennium were not isolated, but rather a part of a larger social issue. The intent is to put the many fears of collapse and change into a larger historical perspective. All papers seek to address issues around catastrophic change or destruction, both imagined and real, inliterature, art, history and philosophy.Gosline, Sheldon Lee is the author of 'Eschatology East and West : Millennium, Madness and Mayhem', published 2004 under ISBN 9780971468313 and ISBN 0971468311.