ɪt wˈʌz, ˌɔn ðɪs vjˈuː, ɹˈɪʔn̩ lˈɔŋ ˈæftɚ hɪɹˈɑːdəɾəs tˈaɪm, pɚhˈæps ɪnðə θˈɜːd ɔːɹ fˈoːɹθ sˈɛntʃɚɹiz ˌeɪdˈiː, wˌɛn ðɛɹwˌʌz ɐn ˈɔːdiəns fɔːɹ lˈɪɾɚɹˌɛɹi pˈæstɪtʃᵻz, sˈʌtʃ ɐz ðə lˈɛɾɚz ʌv ˈælsɪfɹən, ænd fɹˈɔːdʒuːlənt ɐtɹɪbjˈuːʃənz, æz ɪnðə hɪstˈoːɹiə ɔːɡˈʌstə .
It was, on this view, written long after Herodotus' time, perhaps in the 3rd or 4th centuries AD, when there was an audience for literary pastiches, such as the Letters of Alciphron, and fraudulent attributions, as in the Historia Augusta .