[1] Doubt has recently arisen over whether Phokas was in fact the author of the Ekphrasis, which has been re-attributed instead to the John Doukas who went on an imperial mission to the Holy Land in 1177.
He may be the same person as the "Focas" who, according to the Annales Herbipolenses, was sent by Manuel in 1147 to guide the crusading army of King Conrad III of Germany from Nicaea to Iconium.
[5] He also reports that Cana was nothing more than a kastellion (a small fortified settlement),[6] that there were two monasteries (one Greek, one Latin) atop Mount Tabor,[7] and that the site of ancient Jericho was covered in gardens and vineyards.
[8] Besides the Bible, Phokas also quotes from such ancient authors as Josephus Flavius and Achilles Tatius.
[4] The Ekphrasis may have been written against the pilgrimage account of Constantine Manasses, who returned from the Holy Land disillusioned and wondering why Christ lived there.