Lucian has the reputation of being a witty scoffer, thanks to his many genuine essays and dialogues, and thus the reliability of De Dea Syria as an authentic picture of religious life in Syria in the second century has been brought into question, but given the possibility that Lucian is not in fact the author, the treatise may in fact be more accurate than was previously supposed.
The credibility of De Dea Syria is challenged by Lucian's reputation as a sarcastic critic, casting doubt on his involvement in its composition. Nevertheless, if Lucian is not the true author, the work might be more reliable than initially assumed.