Belet-Seri

Belet-Seri was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as a scribe in the court of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal. She could be regarded as the Akkadian counterpart of Sumerian Geshtinanna, but the name could also function as a title of Ašratum, the wife of Amurru, or as a fully independent deity.

==Character== The name Belet-Seri means "mistress of the steppe." The Akkadian word ṣēru, in addition to its literal meaning, could also refer to the underworld. Old Babylonian incantations, such as Udug-hul, attest that Belet-Seri was envisioned as a scribe of the underworld (ṭupšarrat arallê). It has been proposed that she was meant to server as a mirror of the royal scribe (ṭupšar ekalli) in the underworld court of Ereshkigal. She was most likely believed to hold a list containing the names of the dead, on the basis of which they were admitted to the underworld. Her role is described in the Epic of Gilgamesh when Enkidu has a vision of the underworld in a dream. In the incantation series Maqlû, Šurpu, and Bīt Mēseri she is asked to bind demons and witches and prevent them from leaving the underworld.