Identify the similarities and differences between the Cretan civilization and the civilizations of the Ancient East.

Similarities:
– a theocratic form of government, when the functions of both the king-ruler and the high priest, who had a divine origin, were concentrated in the hands of the ruler.
Differences:
– in the East, although religious power belonged to the monarch, it was nevertheless mediated by the priests and had its own temples. In Crete, a purely priestly class was not formed, and there were no temples to the gods as separate structures. For religious ceremonies, sanctuaries were used, very logically and skillfully from an architectural point of view, tied into the layout of the palace complex.