Please view full size... thank you! Uh, Ninshubar! I guess I have you to thank for getting me back from the darklands. Not just me, but Ishtar, Utu, Sin - in fact Sargon you owe your new life to a whole pantheon of Gods, from both Akkad and Sumer. Um, I was pretty stupid wasn't I? Going after the temples of Sumer and trying to destroy the Sumerian's faith in their Gods? Sargon, you've got to know that your Gods and those of Sumer - they are all the same Gods. Some may call My Lady Ishtar, some may call her Inanna, but she is the same Goddess no matter what name you call her. But to Akkad she is the Goddess of War and to Sumer she is the Goddess of Love. How can that be? How can she be both? Sargon are you not a mighty warrior? Have you not conquered most of Mesopotamia? Well yes, of course, I am the most powerful warrior in the land! But... Shhh, quiet, listen and think. Are you also not a lover? Was not Enheduanna born of your seed? And do you also not love her above all else? Again, yes of course I am a lover. I have four sons by my wife and my most beautiful daughter Enheduanna. Well then Sargon, by your own admission you are both a warrior and a lover. So are you saying that the Goddess Ishtar is less capable than you? Are you saying that you are better than she? NO! By the Gods, NO, I never would elevate myself to the level of the Gods. Ninshubar, do not put such words in my mouth! Well then? I have been given another chance - something no other man has been granted. I will not turn aside this gift from the Gods. I will seek to make peace with the Gods of Sumer and Akkad for indeed it is clear, we are all of one faith, one people, although I was too blind to see. Ah Sargon, there is hope for you yet! You are not so blind as you appeared to be. And the fact that Enheduanna is your daughter tells me there is wisdom within your bloodlines, wisdom that you need to more fully tap into. Are you prepared to do this now? Yes, yes I do see what you are saying. Each God is more diverse than I had given myself room to think. And there is room on earth to see the many faces of "God." My faith, my view - it is not the only path to the Goddess. She has many faces and each man will see her in their own way, by their own light. Then welcome Sargon, you are now awake. No longer will you be known as just Sargon the Conqueror, from now on you will be known as Sargon the Great. Be at peace with yourself; build your empire and your name will live well through the ages. Previous Ishtar

"At the Gates"