The Chaldeans held fire in great veneration, and worshiped it as an emblem of the Deity. […] Being regarded as implacable, these Deities were objects of great terror. […] He tamed a furious bull, who did great mischief in Crete. […] He was worshiped under the form of a goat; and great abominations degraded his rites. […] The sacred fire, which was reverenced as the emblem of the great.