Theodoret of Cyrus, on Dan 7:5

“And behold another beast like a bear stood up on one side: and there were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof, and thus they said to it: Arise, devour much flesh.”

“Here he indicates the Persian kingdom, which he states to have been like a bear because of the cruelty and savageness of the punishments it meted out. For the Persians were the cruelest of all the barbarians when it came to punishing. They would rip out the very hearts of offenders, or they would contrive long tortures in which they would sever the guilty limb by limb. They were always inflicting a harsh death on whomever they punished.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.