page_title: Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac
section_title: Gerasa, Gadara, or Gergesa?
hierarchical_section_title: Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac / Commentary / Gerasa, Gadara, or Gergesa?
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Blatt 51r: Heilung des Besessenen, Mk 5,1-20 English: Page 51r: Healing of the demon-possessed, Mk 5:1-20
context_page_description: The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac, frequently known as the Miracle of the Swine and the exorcism of Legion, is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. The story shows Jesus exorcising a demon or demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown themselves.
  The story appears in the three Synoptic Gospels, but not the Gospel of John. All accounts involve Jesus exorcising demons, identified collectively in Mark and Luke as "Legion".
  The story was interpreted by Saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas to mean that Christians have no duties to animals. It has been a point of contention in discussions of Christianity and animal rights.
context_section_description: The story appears to be set close to the Sea of Galilee, but neither Gadara nor Gerasa is nearby; both cities are southeast of the lake, Gadara 10 km away or a three-hour walking distance, and Gerasa well over twice as far. Origen speculated that there had been a town called "Gergasa" on the shores of the Sea.
  The differing geographical references to Gadara and Gerasa can be understood in light of the social, economic, and political influence each city exerted over the region. In this light, Matthew identified the exorcism with the local center of power, Gadara, located about ten kilometres southeast of Sea of Galilee, whereas Mark identified the event with the regional center of power, Gerasa, located further inland. The city of Gerasa had been a major urban center since its founding and during the Roman period it was the more widely known among the ten-city league known as the Decapolis.
  As to the candidate for the location of the Gospel event, the most common consensus is that the miracle to took place near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kursi, close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and therefore in the country of Gergesenes.
caption: Medieval illumination of Jesus exorcizing the Gerasene demoniac from the Ottheinrich Folio
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