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affected relations between participants on Ayios Elias and those who lived on the edge of, or
on, the Megalopolis plain, although at present there is no evidence from the plain itself and
very little from the edge datable to the period in question (Roy et al. 1992). In part, these
people may not have been aware of any activity if it was not seen and thus not affected, as
those to the east would have been had they seen and been refused access. On the other hand,
those to the west may have heard from others, thus aware of their exclusion, not knowing
through any visible means when such activity was taking place, maybe only hearing after the
event. This may have been an unintended consequence of positioning the altar where it was,
but one that was real and would have affected the lives of those living to the west of the hill
and those living in the valley and using the hill. Once on the hill, the group of participants
performing rituals, although they would have their view of the east obscured by smoke and
the altar would have been facing in this direction with their attention on the sacrifices, their
backs turned physically towards the west (Fig.4.24 & 4.25).
Of course, these are things about which we can only conjecture, although the existence of
Lakonian PG may suggest that people from over the Tsemborou range, could have joined in
with activities. This inclusion or exclusion could have changed quite frequently, depending
on relations that were sustained or broken with groups in contact with one another from
neighbouring valleys or further afield. Forsen (1999, p.186) argues that this site, from the
beginning, was the focal point of several communities in the southern Mainalon district of
Arkadia and continued as such when poleis in the region were developing. This is in contrast
to an earlier suggestion that the sanctuary was extra-urban in nature, delimiting the territory of
the polis of Asea or according to Jost (1985, p.200) the territory of Peraitheis to the north
(Fig.4.26).
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