| − | It is sufficient to say on this subject that without a clear clay tablet on the subject, skeptics hold the character of [[Darius the Mede]] is either "literary fiction, appropriate to the genre of a court contest tale"<ref>Hill, Andrew, ''Expositor's Commentary'', Zondervan, 2009, p.114. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=bCPBrAfBSdgC&pg=PA114&dq=expositor%27s+commentary+%22Generally+for+critical+commentators+the+character+is+simply+a+literary+fiction+appropriate+to+the+Genre+of+court-contest+tale%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9q8_JwP_oAhWy7XMBHcSsCIoQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=expositor's%20commentary%20%22Generally%20for%20critical%20commentators%20the%20character%20is%20simply%20a%20literary%20fiction%20appropriate%20to%20the%20Genre%20of%20court-contest%20tale%22&f=false</ref> or similarly a literary composite of several individuals as sumarized by Hill<ref>Hill, Andrew, ''Expositor's Commentary'', Zondervan, 2009, p.114. https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Expositor_s_Bible_Commentary/bCPBrAfBSdgC?q=expositor%27s+commentary+%22Generally+for+critical+commentators+the+character+is+simply+a+literary+fiction+appropriate+to+the+Genre+of+court-contest+tale%22&gbpv=1#f=false</ref> and therefore the entire chapter as fiction. This as Barnes notes<ref>Barnes Commentary, ''Daniel 6:1, Section 2'' - "Considerable importance is to be attached to the question who was Darius the Mede, as it has been made a ground of objection to the Scripture narrative, that no person by that name is mentioned in the Greek writers." | + | It is sufficient to say on this subject that without a clear clay tablet on the subject, skeptics hold the character of [[Darius the Mede]] is either "literary fiction, appropriate to the genre of a court contest tale"<ref>Hill, Andrew, ''Expositor's Commentary'', Zondervan, 2009, p.114.[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=bCPBrAfBSdgC&pg=PA114&dq=expositor%27s+commentary+%22Generally+for+critical+commentators+the+character+is+simply+a+literary+fiction+appropriate+to+the+Genre+of+court-contest+tale%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9q8_JwP_oAhWy7XMBHcSsCIoQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=expositor's%20commentary%20%22Generally%20for%20critical%20commentators%20the%20character%20is%20simply%20a%20literary%20fiction%20appropriate%20to%20the%20Genre%20of%20court-contest%20tale%22&f=false]</ref> or similarly a literary composite of several individuals as sumarized by Hill<ref>Hill, Andrew, ''Expositor's Commentary'', Zondervan, 2009, p.114.[https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Expositor_s_Bible_Commentary/bCPBrAfBSdgC?q=expositor%27s+commentary+%22Generally+for+critical+commentators+the+character+is+simply+a+literary+fiction+appropriate+to+the+Genre+of+court-contest+tale%22&gbpv=1#f=false]</ref> and therefore the entire chapter as fiction. This as Barnes notes<ref>Barnes Commentary, ''Daniel 6:1, Section 2'' - "Considerable importance is to be attached to the question who was Darius the Mede, as it has been made a ground of objection to the Scripture narrative, that no person by that name is mentioned in the Greek writers." |
| | *[https://www.academia.edu/22476645/Darius_the_Mede_A_Reappraisal]Steven D. Anderson, ''Darius the Mede: A Reappraisal'' (Steven D. Anderson: Grand Rapids, 2014). | | *[https://www.academia.edu/22476645/Darius_the_Mede_A_Reappraisal]Steven D. Anderson, ''Darius the Mede: A Reappraisal'' (Steven D. Anderson: Grand Rapids, 2014). |
| | *[http://artflsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/perseus/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekSept18&getid=1&query=Xen.%20Cyr.%201]Xenophon, ''Cyropaedia: the education of Cyrus'', translated by Henry Graham Dakyns and revised by F.M. Stawell. | | *[http://artflsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/perseus/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekSept18&getid=1&query=Xen.%20Cyr.%201]Xenophon, ''Cyropaedia: the education of Cyrus'', translated by Henry Graham Dakyns and revised by F.M. Stawell. |