‘Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea”’ (Daniel 7:2-3 NIV)

Not surprisingly, the rise of the four beasts described in Daniel 7 has been the source of much speculation, and dare I say it, much misunderstanding. Whilst the vision firmly belongs to the genre of biblical literature best described as ‘apocalyptic’, in a more immediate way the dream is best understood as remarkably accurate depiction of the post-Alexandrian political world and the coming of the Diadochi.