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
Snake (zodiac) a tendency to be somewhat unscrupulous. People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Snake", while also bearing the following elemental sign: Note that in Japan, the new sign of the zodiac also starts on 1 January, while in China it also starts, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, at the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February, so that persons born in January or February may also have two different signs in the two countries. Depictions of zodiacal Snakes are also either solo or in group