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Vates

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Latin term for a prophet-poet, often used to denote poets with oracular or visionary authority

Detailed Definition
Vates is a Latin term for a prophet-poet or seer, historically denoting a bard with divine inspiration; in modern usage, it signifies the poet as visionary or truth-teller, channeling spiritual, political, or cultural insight through heightened language and prophetic utterance.
Example
Example in poetry:
Vates: Ancient Roman term for prophet-poet; Virgil as vates in "Eclogues"; Shelley’s "Defence of Poetry": "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators"; Contemporary: Tracy K. Smith as U.S. Poet Laureate embodies vatic role
Additional Notes
Latin "prophet/seer" - poet as visionary or prophet figure. Related to vatic poetry and Romantic conception of poet. Study with bardic tradition for prophetic poetic roles.
Also Known As
bard-seer prophetic poet
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