The Greek noun agelē (Ἀγέλη) refers to a herd of animals, and in the New Testament it appears exclusively in the context of the large herd of pigs at Gerasene/Gadara into which the demons entered when cast out by Jesus (Matthew 8:30-32; Mark 5:11-13; Luke 8:32-33). A herd of two thousand animals (Mark 5:13) is specifically noted.
The agelē — the herd of pigs — plays a surprising but theologically important role in the exorcism at Gerasene. The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss (Luke 8:31) but instead into the pigs, and Jesus permitted it. The entire herd rushed into the lake and drowned. Several theological threads converge here: (1) Jesus has absolute authority over demonic powers; (2) the region was Gentile territory (pigs were unclean animals for Jews); (3) one restored human life was worth two thousand pigs — a statement of human dignity and the cost of redemption. The townspeople's response — fear and a request for Jesus to leave — reveals that encountering the power of God is uncomfortable when it disrupts economic and social arrangements.