fell into disuse in Latin until it was revived by Virgil. Thus Ovid could describe himself as the of Eros (Amores 3.9). In pagan Rome the vates resided on the Vatican Hill, the Hill of the Vates. The Vatican Hill takes its name from the Latin word Vaticanus, a vaticiniis ferendis, in allusion to the oracles, or Vaticinia, which were anciently delivered on the Vatican Hill. (When the papacy was returned to Rome from Avignon (France) in the 14th century, the Vatican became the residence of the Pope, and the word Vatican came to refer to the enclave in the middle of Rome that had become the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.) Celtic civilisation According to the Ancient Greek writers Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Poseidonius, the () were one of three classes of Celtic priesthood, the other two being the druids and the bards. The Vates had the role of seers and performed sacrifices (in particular administering human sacrifice) under the authority of a druid according to Roman and Christian interpretation. Modern usage Thomas Carlyle discussed the similarities and differences between the "Vates Prophet" and the "Vates Poet" in On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History (1841). Vates or Ovates make up one of the three grades of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a neo-druidism order based in England. An ovate is also the initial level one can attain in the modern Welsh Gorsedd of Bards. The Gorsedd is not a neo-druidic entity like the one mentioned above, but is more concerned with Welsh arts and culture; however, the ceremony and practices are largely based on reimaginings of druidism by Iolo Morganwg. Citations General sources Ellis, Peter Berresford, The Druids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing (1995) Perkins, Caroline A., "Ovid's Erotic Vates" in Helios, March 2000 Rübekeil, Ludwig, Wodan und andere forschungsgeschichtliche Leichen: exhumiert , Beiträge zur Namenforschung (2003), 25–42. External links Classical descriptions of the vates Ovates Ancient Roman religion Prophets Druidry Italo-Celtic