What is a…
legion

Greek: λεγεών —transliteration: legión

The Greek version of the Latin word “legion” (legio, legionis, legiuncula) appears 4 times in the New Testament.

Originally, this was the name of a regiment of the Roman army, the number of men in it varied at different times.

A legion originally consisted of 3,000 men, and later 5,200 men. By the time of Christ it was 6,000, not counting its horsemen ( equites ), who were perhaps a 10th or less the number of foot soldiers. In later years, the size of a legion became much smaller (1 to 1½-thousand).

The word is used in Matthew 26:53 to express 72-thousand angels.

In Mark 5:9 it is used to simply express a great multitude of demons.

More information

• military
• army
• Rome
• legions of angels
• legion of demons