Francois de Polignac used the Argive Heraion as the prototype for his conception of the rural sanctuary used by the nearby polis in order to exert control over a larger bit of territory. Jonathan Hall in his article "How Argive was the Argive Heraion?" points out that there is little evidence, however, of Argive domination of the sanctuary in the archiac period.
Some of Hall's arguments summarized:
- In ca. 494 B.C. when the Spartan King Kleomenes lands in the territory of Nauplio and Tiryns before assaulting Argos he meets no resistence there, as far as Herodotus says, suggesting political independence at this point (Hall 588-9).
- Mycenae and Tiryns both participated in the Persian Wars in 480 B.C. while Argos did not, suggesting again political independence (Hall 589).
- As Strom has pointed out, the monumental building program at the Argive Heraion prior to 700 BC is not matched at Argos (Hall 606).
- An inscribed sacred law of the Heraion from ca. 575-550 appears not to be in the Argive dialect since it lacks second compensatory lengthening (Hall 611).