The prophet Daniel

As a young man, Daniel was taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar to be trained in Chaldean writing and language, and to serve in the king’s palace. As King Nebuchadnezzar’s servant, Daniel was considered to be cleverer than others and was promoted to high office. In this position, he was tasked with interpreting the king’s strange dreams.

The king’s son once held a great feast, at which he used the Jerusalem Temple’s sacred gold and silver chalices as drinking cups. A hand suddenly appeared and wrote the words “mene, mene, tekel ufarsin” (numbered, numbered, weighed and divided) on the wall. When Daniel was fetched to interpret these words, he said that they foretold that the king would die that same night and that the Persians would conquer the realm – which is what happened. Daniel was thrown to the lions by the Persian ruler Darius the Mede but emerged unscathed thanks to God’s protection. This scene is depicted on the statue’s plinth.