A scholia in the Dialogues des courtisanes by the satirist Lucien of Samosata describes in unusual detail the ritual manipulations performed during the Thesmophoria. This Byzantine gloss is probably based on a scholarly text from the Hellenistic period, which also inspired Clement of Alexandria and his diatribes against pagan mysteries in the Protrepticus. It describes the precipitation of piglet into cavities called megara, with pine branches and sexual symbols made of bread dough, which " puiseuses " bring up when the whole has decomposed. This compost is then sacralized on altars and mixed with the year's seeds for good harvests. The whole operation is seen as " symbolizing the birth of the fruits of the earth and of human beings, in thanksgiving to Demeter ". Analysis of this scholarly reflection attests to the probably Athenian origin of the description, and raises the problem of unveiling the normally unspeakable feminine secret.
In another documentary vein, Aristophanes' comedy Women at the Thesmophoria also explores the question of the female ritualistic inner circle. The ritualistic clues that run through the play reveal the use of lighted torches, the provision of temporary shelters to accommodate the women in small groups, the sacrificial offering of cakes and bread, prayers whose divine recipients outline the scope of the feast, the unveiling of successive secret rites, right up to the expected epiphany of the two Thesmophores goddesses. As for the participants responsible for the feast, other Attic documentation - decree of a deme and speeches by orators - attests that in the 4th century BC, two women per deme were responsible for the celebration asarchousai, along with the priestess, and that wealthy husbands were supposed, on this occasion, to regale the participants on behalf of their lawful wives. From good harvests to beautiful children and the affirmation of the status of citizens' wives, the Athenian Thesmophoria's constituent elements are all in evidence.
