Are there English equivalents to a Japanese old saying, “Be the mouth of cock rather than remaining as the tail of ox”?

The following comes to mind:

Better to be a big fish in a little pond than a little fish in a big pond.

Although for 鶏口となるも牛後となるなかれ, http://kotowaza-allguide.com/ke/keikoutonarumo.html gives the following, which I personally had never heard:

Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.

Better be first in a village than second at Rome.

It may seem like a long shot but consider the quote from Milton's Paradise Lost:

Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.

even though it may carry additional (sarcastic ?) meaning.

I have heard the expression "Better to live one day as a lion than spend a lifetime as a sheep" used in that context.