Such a testimonial, although perhaps just a bit overstated, is not uncommon among modern scholars who see in ancient references to sacred prostitution not historical accuracy but accusation. As one of the earliest authors to write clearly and directly (apparently) about the perceived ancient custom, Herodotos gets a lot of flak for supposedly denigrating his eastern neighbors, and even more so for getting the “sacred prostitution ball” rolling. It was Herodotos, many claim, who created the entire myth. Thus J. G. Westenholz notes that “Such allegations first appear in the work of Herodotus (Hist. 1.199) whose view of Mesopotamian culture was considerably biased and whose speculations have been elaborated by Strabo in his Geography (16.1.20), and by other classical authors.” Oden, in his analysis of the literary sources for sacred prostitution, concludes, “What appears to be a list of more than a dozen sources may in fact be a list of a couple of sources, perhaps even and ultimately a single source: Herodotus.