The Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians or the Etruscans used oracles as as go-between, they would reveal the Gods’ intentions to the mortals. Oracles performed other diverse roles which were highly contextualized, they are one of the finest examples of the many imbrications of power and knowledge.

Augustin Bouché-Leclerc, Histoire de la divination dans l’antiquité, Paris, Leroux, 1962 (new ed. 2003).

Cicero, De divinatione,

Marcel Detienne, Les maîtres de la vérité dans la Grèce archaïque, Paris, Le livre de poche, 2006.

However, there is a more recent history of political predictions. Political bets are an old practice that can be tracked back to the Renaissance.