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.