Daniel in the Lion's Den

Instructions

Daniel in the lion's den has been an artistic subject for hundreds of years.  Take a look at some of the art works while you think about the story.  The high quality photos may take a moment to load.

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Who was King Darius?


King Darius the Great was king of a place known as Persia.  This country doesn't exist any more, but back in time, it was really big.  King Darius was the most important person in the country.  He would have had lots of people working for him.  Anything he told them to do, they would have to do.  He made the laws.

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By Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18884228

What is a law?


Laws are rules that the king makes.  Everyone who wants to live in the area where the king lives has to follow the rules.  If they don’t follow the rules, they get punished.

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By Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18884231

Who would have worked for Darius?


The king would have had wise advisors, physicians, guards and soldiers, scholars, and artists. He also would have had people who were wise builders and people who could work with metal and wood. In this story, Daniel was one of the king's wise advisors.

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By Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18884229

Fast Horses


Persia was famous for their horses.  Without phones or electronics, the Persians used horses to get messages from one end of the empire to the other with incredible speed!

Some people's job was to wait with a horse in case an important message came that had to be delivered immediately.  The king's messages were delivered the fastest.


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Activity #1


Draw a small kingdom on a piece of paper.   You get to be King or Queen of that kingdom.

Give your kingdom a name.

What advisors does your kingdom need to be successful?  Write them all down.

What kind of money will you use?  Draw what your money will look like.

What laws would be good laws for your kingdom to have.