Volume 17, Issue 2, 2025, pages 326-337

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsLKZD1950
Published online: 2025-12-01
Published in print: 2025-12-30

Abstract: Mark’s Gospel abounds in spatial references which situate Jesus and other characters in various venues. Spatiality plays an important role in the episode of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20), and scholars have especially noted the evangelist’s employment of horizontal movements, as Mark periodically moves his characters on horizontal lines. This is to be seen chiefly in the entrances and the exits of various characters, especially the demoniac. This essay aims to unearth the vertical dimension of movement in the story, arguably less noticeable than the horizontal one. It shows that in several verses of the story Mark moves his characters on a vertical line from above to below in order to convey their subjection to Jesus. This use of verticality underlines his christological message – Jesus’ victory over the demons.