The Indo-European warrior initiation rite of passage often included the sacrifice of a dog or a wolf. A boy might have to kill his own beloved dog in order to become a man. But why did they do this?

This ritual was not only carried out on the bronze age steppe. Similar rites were practiced from the Atlantic coasts of Europe all the way to the Ganges in India for thousands of years, the acts themselves and meanings behind them changing in descendant populations over the millennia.

What was its purpose? And what does it have to do with the famed warriors of Sparta and the founding of Ancient Rome?

This is the story of the Indo-European warrior initiation ceremony, the koryos, and the midwinter dog sacrifice.

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Video Sources

Late Bronze Age midwinter dog sacrifices and warrior initiations at Krasnosamarskoe, Russia - Dorcas R. Brown and David W. Anthony
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language - David Anthony ➜ https://amzn.to/3aD3Rhu
The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-) Germanic Männerbünde - Kris Kershaw ➜ https://amzn.to/3dRk8kW
The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History - Mircea Eliade ➜ https://amzn.to/2SgJmS7
Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth - Mircea Eliade ➜ https://amzn.to/3zk1xXq
Ancient Germanic Warriors - Michael P. Speidel ➜ https://amzn.to/3zZSqMD

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Video Chapters

00:00 What is the Midwinter Dog Sacrifice?
01:16 Why did they sacrifice dogs?
07:11 What was the initiation ritual like?
12:19 Historical examples of the rites
15:24 Archaeological evidence in Russia