Legion: In the New Testament, both Mark and Luke tell of a Gerasene man possessed of devils. The man seeks out Jesus in the hopes of being cured, and Jesus drives the demons out into a herd of swine. Before Jesus exorcises the spirit, he demands to know its name. The correct name of a demon was thought to be integral to exorcising or binding that spirit from Sumerian times onward.
According to the text, the demon responds, “My name is legion, for we are many” 15 Given the time period and location of this incident, the name legion most likely referred to a Roman legion. A typical Roman legion numbered approximately six thousand well-armed men, and these infantry units of the Roman Empire were universally feared throughout the Mediterranean world. This biblical passage may be the reason why many grimoires portray demons as ruling over legions of lesser spirits. In his Discoverie of Witchcraft, Scot states that an infernal legion is comprised of 6666 spirits.
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SOURCE:
The Dictionary of Demons written by Michelle Belanger.
NOTE:
Edited and revised for the Web by Occult Media, the 22nd of April 2021. We use British English spelling.