GREEKS OF GADARA. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This short dramatic monologue gives voice to the people of Gadara, a pagan community featured in the biblical tale of the Gadarene swine.
The poem
We sacrifice a sow unto Demeter At the beginning of harvest and another To Dionysus at the vintage-time. Therefore we prize our herds of swine, and count them Not as unclean, but as things consecrate To the immortal gods. O great magician, Depart out of our coasts; let us alone, We are afraid of thee.
This short dramatic monologue gives voice to the people of Gadara, a pagan community featured in the biblical tale of the Gadarene swine. They express that their pigs are sacred offerings to their gods and plead with Jesus — the "great magician" — to leave them alone, as his power terrifies them. Longfellow effectively illustrates the conflict between two worlds: a community steeped in ancient Greek religious traditions and a miracle-worker whose arrival disrupts everything they understand.
Line-by-line
We sacrifice a sow unto Demeter / At the beginning of harvest and another
Therefore we prize our herds of swine, and count them / Not as unclean, but as things consecrate
To the immortal gods. O great magician, / Depart out of our coasts; let us alone,
We are afraid of thee.
Tone & mood
The tone is serious and quietly respectful. The Gadarenes speak with the calm confidence of those sharing their own culture, then transition into a more vulnerable space — authentic, raw fear. There's no hysteria or malicious intent. Longfellow maintains a steady and straightforward voice, which makes the final line hit even harder. The overall impression is one of empathy: these are everyday people caught between their deities and an outsider's miracle.
Symbols & metaphors
- The swine — In the Bible, the pigs play a minor role — merely vessels for demons before becoming victims themselves. In this context, they transform into a key symbol of an entire religious culture. They embody the Gadarenes' beliefs, their seasonal cycles, and their connection to their deities. Their destruction is reinterpreted as an act of desecration.
- Demeter and Dionysus — These two deities ground the Gadarenes in the Greek religious landscape. Demeter oversees grain and harvest, while Dionysus is in charge of wine and transformation. Together, they span the entire agricultural year, reflecting a community whose faith is deeply intertwined with daily life rather than being abstract or remote.
- The great magician — This is how the Gadarenes refer to Jesus — not as a god, not as a fraud, but as a magician: someone with genuine and unsettling power that exists beyond their own religious understanding. This label captures their viewpoint accurately. They aren't dismissing him; they're putting him in the only category they have.
- The coasts — "Our coasts" refers to their territory, borders, and the limits of their known world. When they ask Jesus to depart from their coasts, they are asking him to remain outside the boundaries of their life and culture. This plea is about preserving a way of life, not merely a request for him to leave a specific geographic area.
Historical context
Longfellow wrote this poem as part of his collection *Christus: A Mystery* (1872), a dramatic trilogy that delves into Christianity's history from the Nativity to the Reformation. "Greeks of Gadara" is in the first section, *The Divine Tragedy*, which presents stories from the Gospels in a dramatic style. The inspiration comes from the Miracle of the Gadarene Swine found in Matthew 8, Mark 5, and Luke 8, where Jesus sends demons into a herd of pigs that then rush into the Sea of Galilee and drown. The townspeople, witnessing this event, plead with Jesus to leave. Longfellow was intrigued by the lesser-known aspects of the Gospel stories — the unnamed individuals, the overlooked, those whom history records as mere background. By giving the Gadarenes a voice grounded in authentic Greek religious practices, he encourages readers to view the miracle from an outsider’s perspective, focusing on those who lost something rather than those who benefited.
FAQ
It’s a powerful monologue delivered by the residents of Gadara—a Greek-speaking pagan community—from the biblical tale where Jesus sends demons into a herd of pigs. The poem allows them to express the significance of those pigs in their religious lives, concluding with their desperate request for Jesus to leave them be.
Because that's the nearest category their Greek religious worldview has for him. They aren't trying to insult him — they genuinely believe his power is real. However, he isn't one of their gods, nor is he a priest of their tradition. "Magician" is the term someone outside the Christian framework would use to describe a miracle-worker: powerful, mysterious, and acting according to rules they don't grasp.
The Miracle of the Gadarene Swine, as recounted in Matthew 8:28–34, Mark 5:1–20, and Luke 8:26–39, describes how Jesus expels demons from a man into a herd of pigs, which then rush into the sea and drown. The townsfolk react by asking Jesus to depart from their area. Longfellow takes this brief and unexplained response and crafts the entire poem around it.
Gadara was an actual city in the Decapolis, a collection of Greco-Roman cities in the area. Its residents actively practiced Greek religion, making sacrifices to Demeter and Dionysus. By grounding the narrative in historical detail, Longfellow brings the community to life and makes their loss tangible. This specificity also highlights a more pronounced cultural clash: it's not just any paganism, but a rich, ancient religious tradition confronting something completely different.
Not exactly. The poem is part of *Christus: A Mystery*, which treats Christianity with depth. Longfellow emphasizes the full humanity of everyone in the story, including those who lose out in a miracle. He's not claiming Jesus was wrong; rather, he's acknowledging that the Gadarenes had a genuine culture and beliefs, and their fear and grief deserve recognition.
It subtly references Jewish dietary law, which deems pigs as unclean animals that can't be consumed or used in religious practices. The Gadarenes are resisting this classification without mentioning it outright. To them, pigs aren't unclean — they’re seen as sacred offerings. This word highlights the cultural divide between the two traditions central to the story.
*Christus: A Mystery* (1872) is a dramatic trilogy that Longfellow developed over several decades. It consists of three parts: *The Divine Tragedy* (which covers the Gospels), *The Golden Legend* (focusing on medieval Christianity), and *The New England Tragedies* (depicting Puritan America). The poem "Greeks of Gadara" is featured in *The Divine Tragedy*.
Because the Gadarenes have just one thing to express: this is who we are, this is what you destroyed, so please leave. Longfellow understands the simplicity of their situation. A longer poem might risk exaggerating their importance — they are just a brief, scared community at the periphery of a story that isn't really about them. The brevity is intentional. They are minor characters, and the poem respects that without feeling the need to apologize.