The question turns on passages in the poem (1226–1280; cf. 1446-1450) that describe Roman dominance in terms that only fit the situation after the Second Macedonian War. Cassandra prophesies that her Trojan ancestors' descendants "shall with their spears win the foremost crown of glory, obtaining the sceptre and monarchy of earth and sea" and elaborates with allusions to the course of historical events. Some scholars, such as Stephanie West, regard these passages as interpolations and defend the attribution of the bulk of the poem to Lycophron the tragic poet.