#Lucy Frazer

[k-lua]

[angelholme]

Well this is just nonsense.

If a large percentage of the UK population think the Tory government is corrupt and self-serving and shit, does that mean it is?

I think the Tory government would say no.

Except according to Ms Frazer........ it is.

[ianchisnall]

The Government decide without consulting Parliament.

At the end of last week in Parliament there was a debate about BBC Funding and one of the first people to comment was Peter Bottomley who is the MP for Worthing West and is also the Father of the House of Commons. This is his contribution and the response from Lucy Frazer who is the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport. The whole of the contribution can be can be obtained from here. The comment…

[helmstone]

More uncertainty for the BBC Licence Fee

More uncertainty for the BBC Licence Fee

The UK Licence Fee has been frozen for two years, and is in theory up for increase in 2024 (and vanish in 2027, though we’ll as like have a different government then). There have been cost cuttings (eg recent cuts to BBC News) but the government doesn’t want bad news ahead of an election, nor does it want undue pressure on consumers. What’s could the rise be? According to the BBC [sic!] the…

[priceperplayer]

UK Online Gambling Reforms White Paper

Today, the UK Government made public their proposal to tighten online gambling regulations. Earlier today, the UK culture secretary, Lucy Frazer gave a statement on the UK Online Gambling Reforms White paper. However, while these are just proposals, gambling analysts expect several of these proposals to become law next year. Several bookie software solution providers have been awaiting these…

[daydreamslikewaves]

Following on from my first Uncharted fancast - ideal casting for Chloe is Lucy Lawless circa 1999, (Xena era)

You are all welcome

[mariacallous]

A record number of Cabinet ministers lost their seats on Friday in Britain's general election, leaving only a couple of obvious contenders for the party leadership if Rishi Sunak resigns.

Nine members of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's top team failed to be re-elected, beating the previous high of seven who lost out in 1997, as the ruling Conservatives suffered a mauling at the hands of the main opposition Labour party.

Grant Shapps, the UK's defence secretary for nearly a year, was the most high-profile casualty, losing his Welwyn Hatfield seat north of London.

Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, who shot to international attention as a sword carrier at King Charles III's coronation last May, lost in Portsmouth North on England's south coast.

A former defence secretary, she tried twice to become Tory leader, and was tipped to try again after Thursday's election, with Sunak expected to stand down.

Other Tory casualties included Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, Transport and Science Secretary Michelle Donelan.

Veteran minister Johnny Mercer and Brexit champion Jacob Rees-Mogg also lost out, as voters grew fed up with the Conservatives after 14 years in power.

The defeats have already sparked soul-searching among re-elected and departing Conservatives, who said the party had been punished for a series of scandals and infighting in recent years.

"I think that we have seen in this election an astonishing ill-discipline within the party", said former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, after losing his seat.

Shapps, an MP since 2005, criticised the Tories' "inability to iron out their differences" amid an endless political "soap opera" that saw five prime ministers since the 2016 Brexit vote.

"What is crystal clear to me tonight –- it is not so much that Labour won but that the Conservatives lost," he added.

Right-winger Suella Braverman, sacked as interior minister by Sunak late last year for a series of incendiary comments, was re-elected and finance minister Jeremy Hunt survived a major scare to squeak victory.

Current interior minister James Cleverly also held on to his seat.

Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch and security minister Tom Tugendhat also won their races.

Most of those high-profile survivors are expected to challenge for the leadership.

Braverman apologised to voters in her victory speech, saying the Tories had failed to listen to voters.

"The Conservative party let you down... we have got to do better and I will do everything in my power to rebuild trust. We need to listen to you. You have spoken to us very clearly," she said.

[ayeforscotland]

Tory Cabinet reshuffle today and Lucy Frazer, the Tory MP who ‘joked’ about enslaving Scottish people, has been made Culture Secretary.

Great.

[forest-enchantress]

Hi,

I make period drama style gifs. If you use gif packs, please like and reblog them. Most of my projects are already ready, but every day I post no more than 190 gifs. Because that was the reason why my previous account was blocked.

I tried to make gif packs in a format more familiar to you with a link to a separate page. However, unfortunately, I did not succeed because of the large format of high-quality gifs.

I want to explain about color processing. Usually, I improve the contrast, brightness and saturation, but leave the naturalness of the film. I don't make the contours too sharp because I like the aesthetic of it looking like a natural image.

Actors in alphabetical order: part 1(A-D), part 2, part 3

Navigation

The arrangement of names may not be alphabetical

▶Page 1

Anne Hathaway Anya Taylor-Joy Asia Argento Astrid Berges-Frisbey Boran Kuzum Camille Rutherford

▶Page 2

Carla Juri César Domboy Cate Blanchett Charity Wakefield Charlie Rowe Chiara Mastroianni Christian Bale Christoph Waltz Ethan Erickson

▶Page 3

Dagmara Dominczyk Dan Stevens Ella Purnell Emily Blunt Ezra Miller Raffey Cassidy Rebecca Emilie Sattrup Rose Byrne Roxane Duran

▶Page 4

Frances O'Connor Gemma Arterton Hannah Taylor-Gordon Hattie Morahan Hugh Dancy Isabelle Adjani

▶Page 5

Izzy Meikle-Small James Norton Jane Birkin Joanne Whalley Lucy Boynton Jim Caviezel Monica Keena Nicolas Duvauchelle Sally Hawkins

▶Page 6

Adriana Tarábková Dakota Fanning Elle Fanning Gaia Weiss Gwyneth Paltrow Kirsten Dunst Léa Seydoux Pia Degermark Roxane Mesquida Rosamund Pike Samantha Gates Sophia Myles

▶Page 7

Annabelle Wallis Austin Butler Carey Mulligan Guy Pearce James Frain Katie Parker Kate Siegel Olivia Cooke Rachel Hurd-Wood Soko Sujaya Dasgupta Tom Cruise

▶Page 8

Adèle Exarchopoulos Anna Maxwell Martin Charles Dance Emma Williams Gillian Anderson Imogen Poots Natalie Press

▶Page 9

Anna Friel Catherine Mouchet Déborah François Dominic West Frédéric Noaille Joséphine Japy Kevin Kline María Valverde Paz Vega

▶Page 10

Ben Whishaw Clémence Poésy Elliot Grihault Emilia Fox Joseph Morgan Lambert Wilson Michelle Dockery Phoebe Fox Sophie Okonedo Tom Hiddleston Tom Hughes Tom Sturridge

▶Page 11

Calista Flockhart Charlotte Gainsbourg Christina Giannelli David Strathairn Felicity Jones Fu'ad Aït Aattou Greta Scacchi Helena Bonham Carter Holliday Grainger Michelle Pfeiffer Rupert Friend Sophie Marceau

▶Page 12

Angela Bassett Brooke Carter Cillian Murphy Danylo Kolomiiets Katie McGrath Keeley Hawes Maria Bonnevie Marta Gastini Miriam Giovanelli Olivia Hussey Oscar Isaac Peter Plaugborg

▶Page 13

Ben Barnes Ben Chaplin Bill Skarsgård Iben Akerlie Jakob Oftebro Jo Woodcock Lily-Rose Depp Reese Witherspoon Ruth Wilson Samantha Soule Tess Frazer Virginie Ledoyen

▶Page 14

Cary Elwes Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis Emilia Verginelli Hannah James Jonah Hauer-King Loli Bahia Lorenzo Balducci Rebecca Hall Robin Wright Rupert Everett Willa Fitzgerald

▶Page 15

Annes Elwy Claire Danes Eliza Scanlen Kathryn Newton Maya Hawke Romola Garai Samantha Mathis Trini Alvarado Winona Ryder

▶Page 16

Douglas Smith Eric Bana Gizem Karaca Jessica Brown Findlay Kenneth Branagh Kit Harington Millie Brady Natalie Dormer Poppy Delevingne Rachel Weisz Rosy McEwen Sam Claflin

▶Page 17

Aubri Ibrag Christina Hendricks Connie Jenkins-Greig Guy Remmers Henry Cavill Imogen Waterhouse Josie Totah Mia Threapleton Olivia Hallinan

▶Page 18

Essie Davis Fahriye Evcen Justine Waddell Natalia Sánchez Monica Bellucci Penelope Cruz

▶Page 19

Alicia Vikander Alida Baldari Calabria Christopher Abbott Emma Stone Jasmine Blackborow Kim Rossi Stuart Lili Reinhart Louis Cunningham Margaret Qualley Marine Vacth Mark Ruffalo Mélanie Thierry Ramy Youssef Scarlett Johansson Sydney Sweeney

▶Page 20

Antonia Clarke Cameron Monaghan Isolda Dychauk Olivia Colman Laoise Murray Madelaine Petsch Vanessa Redgrave Sophie Turner

▶Page 21

Emily Mortimer Jennifer Beals Kelly Macdonald Lena Headey Perdita Weeks Ruta Gedmintas Sarah Bolger Sting

▶Page 22

To do list:

Christopher Gorham under development (The Other Side of Heaven 2001) Harry Melling - The Pale Blue Eye 2022

✦Francesca Annis

Wives and Daughters 1999 — under development

All of these gifs were made from scratch by me for roleplaying purposes. Feel free to use them as sidebars and reaction gifs. PLEASE DON’T CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

[sztupy]

Yes, deporting the lawyers who help the refugees is probably a great idea!

[somethingeden]

Book help - Series + Characters and Love Tropes

[Firstly, here is post for the fandoms]

Hello, I am a writer on Wattpad and I am trying to think of a story. I do get writer's block so I have old books but I am to lazy to rewrite them. Okay so I have a few ideas but may you use about a minute to vote or even give me suggestions, it would be appreciated! I could also do a cross over.

Series and the characters that I am considering of doing is (I am also okay with character x character and oc x oc:

Narnia (Edmund Pevensie/Peter Pevensie/Caspian X/Lucy Pevensie/Susan Pevensie/Aslan/Eustace Scrubb)

MCU (Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Wanda Maximoff/Peter Parker/Harley Keener/Hope Lang/Scott Lang/Same Wilson/Natasha Romanoff/Pietro Maximoff/Tony Stark/Thor/Loki/Stephen Strange/Wade Wilson/Peter Quill)

Harry Potter (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy/Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger/Luna Lovegood/Neville Longbottom/Blaise Zabini/Pansy Parkinson/Sirius Black/Remus Lupin/Bellatrix Lestrange/Ginny Weasley/Fred Weasley/George Weasley/Bill Weasley/Charlie Weasley/Cedric Diggory/Tom Riddle/Mattheo Riddle)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Albus Potter/James Potter II/Rose Granger-Weasley/Scorpius Malfoy/Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter/Hermione Granger/Ted Lupin)

Marauders (James Potter/Sirius Black/Remus Lupin/Bellatrix Black/Marlene Mckinnon/Mary Mcdonald/Dorcas Meadows)

Doctor Who (9th Doctor/Jack Harkness/10th Doctor/Donna Noble/11th Doctor/Amy Pond/Clara Oswin Oswald/12th Doctor/13th Doctor/Yasmin Khan/Ryan Sinclair/14th Doctor/Donna Noble/Rose Noble)

Heartstopper (Ben Hope/Harry Greene/Imogen Heaney/David Nelson)

Grease (Danny Zuko/Sandy Olsson/Kenickie Murdock/Leo Balmudo)

Disney (Ariel/Maleficent/Briar Rose/Ursula/Prince Eric)

Greek Mythology (Medusa/Hades/Poseidon/Apollo/Ares/Hermes/Demeter)

The Mortal Instruments [I haven't read all the books] (Jace Wayland-Herondale.../Alec Lightwood/Raphael Santiago/Isabelle Lightwood/Magnus Bane/Jonathan Morgenstern/Maia Roberts/Jordan Kyle)

Percy Jackson [I sadly don't have the books but I am going to base it off the tv series that'll come out next month] (Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase/Grover Underwood/Luke Castellan/Ares/Poseidon/Hades/Clarisse La Rue/Medusa/Hermes/Hephaestus)

Enola Holmes 1 and 2 (Enola Holmes/Tewksbury/Sherlock Holmes/Mycroft Holmes)

Jurassic Park (Ian Malcolm/Alan Grant)

Jurassic World (Own Grady/Zach Mitchell/Maisie Lockwood/Gray Mitchell/Ian Malcolm/Alan Grant)

Little Women (Theodore Laurence)

Lord of the Rings (Frodo Baggins/Legolas Greenleaf/Aragorn/Eomer/Faramir)

The Hobbit (Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield/Kili Oakenshield/Fili Oakenshield/Thranduil Greenleaf/Bard/Legolas Greenleaf)

Uncharted (Nathan Drake/Victor Sullivan/Chloe Frazer)

Supernatural (Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester/Jack Kline/Claire Novak)

Mamma Mia 1 and 2 (Sam Carmichael/Harry Bright/Bill Anderson/Sky)

Love tropes:

Enemies to Lovers

Friends to Lovers

Forbidden Love

Secret Identity/Billionaire/Royal

Best friend's Brother/Sister

Second Chance

Soulmates

Fake Relationships to Lovers

Wedding – Runaway Bride/Runaway Groom/Jilted/Arranged Marriage

Strangers to Lovers

Amnesia/Mistaken Identity

Holiday Romance/Flings (Can lead to a baby)

Already Together

Hero x Villain

Sworn off Relationships

Opposites Attract

Secret Baby

Two Person Love Triangle (Mistaken Identity)

Reunited

Fairy Tale Retelling

Bet

Blind Date

and more...

[ianchisnall]

The Nottingham MP Nadia Whittome is aware of YMCA

On Thursday in Parliament there was a session entitled Topical Questions and a wide range of MPs contributed which included Nadia Whittome who is the Nottingham East representative. Her question began with the reference to A YMCA report and the response from the Government came from Lucy Frazer who is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The item is available here and I have put…

[theinconvenientlifestyle]

GB News has paid Conservative MPs more than £660,000 in appearance fees and salaries since it launched, against just £1,100 to Labour MPs, Guardian analysis shows.

The payments, recorded in the parliamentary register of interests, come amid growing concerns among centrists about the channel’s sway over the Tory party’s direction.

Some Conservatives also say they have worries that if Paul Marshall, the hedge fund owner who has a 41% stake in GB News, gains control of the Telegraph titles in a process that is due to resume next month, this could entrench a populist echo chamber for the party’s MPs and supporters.

“It would be a worry if we ended up with what you might call a monopoly of opinion in the Conservative media – as a party we’re not fans of monopolies,” one former cabinet minister said.

The amounts paid to MPs give only part of the story in that many other parliamentarians, including from Labour, regularly appear on the channel without payment. But the £660,262 handed to Conservative MPs in the past two years illustrates the way GB News has transformed UK political broadcasting by routinely using sitting Tories as presenters or contracted pundits.

The biggest single beneficiary was Jacob Rees-Mogg, with the former business secretary paid nearly £325,000 in the last year. He currently receives slightly more than £29,000 a month as a presenter for 40 hours of work, or £729 an hour.

Lee Anderson, who was hired as a Tory MP but is an independent since losing the whip at the weekend over alleged Islamophobic comments, is on a salary of £100,000 a year, plus £50 extra a month to display a GB News logo on his X profile page.

The other big earners are the husband and wife MP team of Esther McVey and Philip Davies, who have been paid just under £130,000 and slightly over £60,000 respectively as presenters.

The only two Labour MPs to have been paid for appearing are Rosie Duffield and Barry Gardiner, who were paid £500 and £600 respectively as one-off guests.

While Ofcom has investigated GB News on a number of occasions, a group of senior broadcasting veterans said last week that the broadcast regulator was failing to properly enforce impartiality rules for a channel that sometimes uses Conservative MPs to interview parliamentary colleagues.

Aides to Marshall say he has no editorial input into GB News and would not seek this if he were to buy the Telegraph titles. But some Tories worry that common ownership could see populist voices such as that of Nigel Farage – a GB News presenter who also writes a Telegraph column – increasingly dominate the Conservative discourse.

Marshall’s views came to prominence last week when the campaign group Hope Not Hate reported he had used a personal X account to like or repost messages including a post about potential “civil war” in Europe because of migration. A spokesperson for Marshall said this “small and unrepresentative sample” did not represent his views.

One centrist Tory MP said: “In theory, if Paul Marshall was going to become the Rupert Murdoch of the Conservative right, that would be a worry. But in real life I’m not sure him owning the Telegraph would particularly change what is there anyway. The Telegraph is already the broadsheet newspaper version of GB News. I’m not sure he would pull them much further to the right. I struggle to see how much worse it can get.”

The Barclay brothers, who ceded control of the Telegraph titles to Lloyds Bank last year after failing to repay a debt, are trying to sell the papers and the Spectator magazine to a consortium backed by the UAE.

The culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, triggered inquiries by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority into the bid, which is led by the investment firm RedBird IMI. These are expected to report back from about 11 March and Frazer could make a decision soon after, with options including approval of the plan or more scrutiny.

If the Redbird plan is blocked, as has been advocated for by a number of Conservative MPs including Rees-Mogg on GB News, Marshall has been mooting a bid alongside the US billionaire Ken Griffin.

Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London and historian of the Conservatives, said the notion of Marshall helping shape Conservative views would in part simply mirror the party’s long history with supportive press barons. But there were some new factors at play, he said.

“The advent of the social media world, which, if you like, GB News is part of, has completely blown up the deference that once existed in the party. It provides an alternative route to fame and fortune for MPs, who probably we would never have heard of,” Bale said.

“In this attention economy, various platforms and outlets have to outbid each other for clicks. So if GB News becomes even more radically rightwing populist then the Telegraph, whether or not it’s owned by Marshall, will have to catch up in order to compete. So there is a kind a ratchet effect.”

A spokesperson for GB News said the lineup of presenters was “entirely a matter for the discretion of the editorial team”, adding: “For the avoidance of any doubt, Sir Paul Marshall has no involvement in editorial decisions.”

[mightyflamethrower]

The leaders of sporting bodies should collectively come together and ban transgender athletes from competing in top-level female sports events, the British government’s culture secretary urged this week.

UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has argued that biologically male transgender athletes have an “indisputable edge” over their female counterparts and therefore, sports organisations should ban transgender participation.

“This week I called together representatives from key sporting organisations, like the England and Wales Cricket Board and Football Association, to encourage them to follow the lead of other sports in not allowing trans athletes to compete against women at the elite level,” Frazer wrote in the Daily Mail. She criticised sports leaders for failing to implement government guidance mandating them to consider fairness and safety in such judgements.

“Sporting bodies have a duty to women competing in sport to set out clear guidance and take an unambiguous position,” the culture secretary argued.

“In competitive sport, biology matters. And where male strength, size and body shape gives athletes an indisputable edge, this should not be ignored. By protecting the female category, they can keep women’s competitive sport safe and fair and encourage the young girls who dream of one day being elite sportswomen.”

Frazer argued that sports bodies could implement an “open” category for transgender athletes, so that the “female” category could be exclusively for women, thereby ensuring that “everyone can take part and nobody experiences an unfair advantage.”

Last month, a survey from the BBC found that over 100 top British sportswomen were not in favour of completing against transgender athletes, yet they were too afraid to speak out publicly for fear of being labelled as prejudiced, with others expressing fear of losing their job if they challenged transgender ideology.

Demonstrating the taboo around the subject, the BBC reported that its survey was sent out to 615 athletes in 28 sports, yet just 143 responded to the study.

The comments from Frazer came after the publication of the long-awaited Cass report, which found that so-called transgender medicine was built on “shaky ground” and that there was a lack of evidence to justify placing children on life-altering puberty-blocking drugs and hormones.

Frazer said: “Among the many lessons of the Cass Review, it has shown us that inaction and a failure to confront the issues at stake cannot be an option,” adding that the issue of protecting female sports is becoming “more pressing with each passing week. ”

The culture secretary pointed to cycling and running, both of which have barred transgender athletes from taking part in female competitions, as instances of “positive progress” on the issue, but said that there needs to be a culture-wide agreement on the matter.

“We must get back to giving women a level playing field to compete. We need to give women a sporting chance,” she said.

[grandmaster-anne]

Court Circular | 15th February 2023

Buckingham Palace

The King held a Council at 4pm. There were present: the Rt Hon Melvyn Stride MP (Acting Lord President and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions), the Rt Hon Stephen Barclay MP (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care), the Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP (Secretary of State for Education), the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP, the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, the Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP and the Rt Hon Lucy Frazer MP. The Rt Hon Dame Sarah Falk was sworn in as a Member of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council. The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP took the Oath of Office, kissed hands upon appointment and received the Seals of Office as Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office. The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP took the Oath of Office, kissed hands upon appointment and received the Seals of Office as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). The Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP took the Oath of Office, kissed hands upon appointment and received the Seals of Office as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer MP took the Oath of Office, kissed hands upon appointment and received the Seals of Office as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport). Mr Richard Tilbrook was in attendance as Clerk of the Council. The Rt Hon Melvyn Stride MP had an audience of His Majesty before the Council. The Rt Hon Sir Clive Alderton (Principal Private Secretary to Their Majesties) and the Rt Hon Sir Edward Young (Joint Principal Private Secretary to His Majesty) were in attendance. Later, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP (Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury) had an audience of The King. By command of His Majesty, Mr Alistair Harrison (Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps) called upon His Excellency Mr Sebastian Mateo Corral Bustamante at 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1, this morning in order to bid farewell to His Excellency upon relinquishing his appointment as Ambassador from the Republic of Ecuador to the Court of St James’s.

St James’s Palace

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, today carried out the following engagements in Wellington, New Zealand: Her Royal Highness this morning called upon the Rt Hon Christopher Hipkins MP (Prime Minister of New Zealand) at the Executive Wing, New Zealand Parliament Grounds, 40 Bowen Street, 1 Molesworth Street and 1 Museum Street, Pipitea. The Princess Royal subsequently visited the National Crisis Management Centre at the Executive Wing, New Zealand Parliament Grounds. Her Royal Highness later visited the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, 55 Cable Street, Te Aro. The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-Chief, Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, this afternoon attended a Reception at Government House to mark the Centenary of the Corps. Her Royal Highness afterwards attended a Service of Remembrance and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, State Highway 1, Te Aro. The Princess Royal this evening attended a Dinner at Government House.

[deathlessathanasia]

“One of the most important areas of research in Aegean prehistory is the translation of Linear A, the writing system used by the Minoans before the Mycenaean conquest. It would appear that certain elements of a pre-Greek language have made their way into Greek, usually names ending in -nthos, -ssos, or -eus such as Knossos, Corinth(os), basileus, and Odysseus. The language that provided such words, then, should be the language (or at least a related group of languages) that was recorded in Linear A. To this date, not only can we not read the language, we do not even know to what language family, if any, it belongs. For a while, some believed that Linear A was a Semitic language, thus related to Arabic and Hebrew. Although there may have been some loan words, especially for imported items (think of the word karate being used in English now), no aspect of what is known of the language seems to conform to the linguistics of Semitic languages. For example, the consonant cluster beginning place-names such as Knossos would not be likely to exist in a Semitic language. Others have suggested, and some now do still maintain, that the language is Indo-European, possibly related to the Luwian dialects spoken in nearby Turkey. Yet others think the language may be the elusive Pelasgian, the pre-Greek dialect occasionally referred to in the writings of the ancient Greeks themselves. As the language certainly appears to be pre-Greek, such a hypothesis is not unfounded. But it provides no actual help either, as the “Pelasgians” are even less well understood in Greek history than the Minoans themselves. Finally, there are those who see the Linear A language as simply Minoan, not related to any other languages, much as modern Basque. Ultimately, the problem is that there is so little Linear A to work with. Ventris, Chadwick, and their colleagues had copious supplies of Linear B tablets with which to decode the language, many several lines long. What remains of Linear A is quite paltry, usually just a few signs on a pot or column. Add to this the fact that we really have no certain way of knowing if the phonetics discerned for Linear B are the same as those for Linear A. Thus, we cannot tell if we are even sounding the short words correctly (although see Godart 1984, 121–128, for more on this issue). . . .

Another problem now being reconsidered is the nature of Minoan religion (which would probably be helped a lot by the translation of Linear A). Sir Arthur Evans, who first brought Knossos, and thus the Minoans, to light, was heavily influenced by a school of thought known as the Cambridge School, best expressed in the work The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazer. Much of this school claimed that ancient, “primitive” religions functioned around the need for fertility. Thus, ancient myths, ancient rites, and even ancient gods were all understood as aspects of some massive fertility cult. The center point of such religions, as the ancients understood it, was an Earth Mother/fertility goddess, who usually had a son-consort vegetation god who died and was reborn annually. Even to this day, Stone Age figurines such as the Venus of Willendorf are understood as “fertility idols.” So influenced, Evans, and other scholars after him, seeing the prominence of females in Minoan iconography, have suggested that the Minoans had a fertility cult surrounding the Great Minoan Mother Goddess. This symbolism was believed to explain such “awkward” images as the prominently displayed breasts of the Middle Minoan Snake Goddesses—lactation imagery, according to the Cambridge School.

In recent years, though, scholars such as Christine Morris and Lucy Goodison have challenged such notions, most accessibly in their 1998 publication Ancient Goddesses (Goodison and Morris 1998). Here, they consider such facts as the utter lack of any pregnant goddess imagery in the Minoan repertoire, the fact that none of these “mother goddesses” are ever shown with children, and the fact that the various items decorating the different goddess images— snakes, birds, labrydes—suggest that we are dealing with several goddesses, not just one major one. In point of fact, monotheism was almost unheard of in the ancient world until the rise of Akhnaten of Egypt in the fourteenth century. Furthermore, the evidence from the Linear B tablets shows that there were several goddesses and gods in the Minoan repertoire (names appear in the tablets that are non-Greek and that are associated predominantly with Crete, having few to no cults on the mainland). Thus, deities such as Pade, Pipituna, and Qerasija appear from the records in Knossos, indicating Cretan but not Greek deities (Hiller 1997, 211). Some of the male deities, such as Enyalios and Paiawon, were apparently later absorbed by Greek gods—they became Ares Enyalios and Apollo Paean. Even the Minoan iconography shows male deities worshipped in sanctuaries, most notably the Palaikastro Kouros discussed in chapter 8. The notion of a single Mother Goddess and her Dying God consort must now be seriously reconsidered and replaced in the literature.”

 - The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, by Stephanie Lynn Budin