While modern science has debunked the myth of cynocephali, scholars still aren’t sure exactly what historical writers were referring to. What Were These Dog-Headed Creatures? Herodotus also wrote of “dog-headed men” who lived in the lands west of Libya. The myth of cyncoephali persisted into the 16th century, when reports of dog-headed humans emerged in the New World. Coastlines were charted, distant woodlands were explored, and no evidence of dog-headed humans emerged.