 Each initiate was tasked with sacrificing a suckling pig, while the officials of the ceremony sacrificed other animals for feasts later on in the day.There's a great deal of speculation as to the origins, reasons, and even practices during this day.Some suggest the blood of the suckling pig was sprinkled on the initiates for purification, while others suggest that sacrifices originally consisted of first fruits and grains, but were then discarded for animal sacrifices in protest against Athenian use of the first harvest for war taxes during the Pelopponesian War.