Sheep god of fertility). Other deities occasionally shown with ram features include the goddess Ishtar, the Phoenician god Baal-Hamon, and the Babylonian god Ea-Oannes. In Madagascar, sheep were not eaten as they were believed to be incarnations of the souls of ancestors. There are many ancient Greek references to sheep: that of Chrysomallos, the golden-fleeced ram, continuing to be told through into the modern era. Astrologically, Aries, the ram, is the first sign of the classical Greek zodiac, and the sheep is the eighth of the twelve animals associated with the 12-year cycle of in the Chinese zodiac, related to the
Ox (zodiac) born in the "Year of the Ox", while also bearing the following elemental sign: Ox (zodiac) The Ox (牛) is the second of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Ox is denoted by the Earthly Branch symbol 丑. The name is also translated into English as Cow; the characters 牛/丑 also refer to the Cow in general, both the males and the females. In the Vietnamese zodiac, the water buffalo occupies the position of the Ox. In the Gurung zodiac, the Ox is also replaced by