The Persian king Cyrus the Great tells the Jewish wise man Daniel that the idol is clearly alive, because it eats the food that is offered to it,[18] but Daniel objects that it "is only clay on the inside, and bronze on the outside, and has never tasted a thing."[18] Daniel proves this by secretly covering the floor of the temple with ash.[18] Daniel and Cyrus leave the temple and, when they return, Daniel shows the king the human footprints that have been left on the floor, proving that the food is really being eaten by the seventy priests of Bel.[19] Bel is also mentioned in the writings of several Greek historians.[16]
