units. Olympic truces are evidence of this effect. If one city-state were to invade or go to war with another city-state during an Olympic truce, the aggressor would not be allowed into the games. Therefore, having an athlete representative in the games meant a recognition of a city-states own sovereignty on a pan-Hellenistic scale. Religion In Aristotle's Politics a responsibility of the polis is its reverence to the gods. Due to this, many religious roles were in fact elected offices and responsibilities of the deme as a whole. Successful synoecism can also be attributed to proper integration of new or reformed state religion. In 408-407 BCE the synoecism of the cities of Lindos, Ialysus, and Camirus formed the new Rhodian state. The synoecism is reflected in the selection of their eponymous priest as they were chosen from the demes of the three collective states now composing Rhodes. It is from the annual election of said priests that the synoecism of the Rhodian state can be dated precisely. Oligarchies Ancient Greek states not democratically governed used the word "polis" in their public documents to signify sovereign power. The Doric states of Crete and Sparta preserved the polis separate from the demos. As late as the second century AD, Cretan towns continued to denote themselves with "polis". Sparta, however, deviating from this use of the word, denominated itself "damos" (δᾶμoς) in ancient laws, because it never thought of itself as a body opposed to the Perioeci. Müller states: "In oligarchical states, as in Elis, the people in later times remained almost constantly in the country; and it frequently happened that grandfathers and grandchildren had never seen the town: there were also country courts of justice, and other regulations intended to make up for the advantages of a city life. Where the courts of justice were at a distance, and there was no inducement to mechanical industry and internal commerce (see the term banausos), the ancient habits of life continued much longer in existence." Sometime in the early 360's BCE the city of Megalopolis, located in Arkadia, was founded in order to coordinate a confederacy of city-states against Spartan hegemony in the region. In an effort to politically unite manage the different confederate city-state members, a council of ten oikistes was appointed to rule in the city. This inter-city effort represents a synoecism between the communities of the region into the poleis of