Many factors of place organisation, such as the ritual use of important rooms, as well pictorial
representations showing ruling figures accompanied by religious emblems and symbols, lead to the
conclusion that the higher power of Minoan Crete was of a theocratic character.
The kings were representatives of the deities and their prestige derived from their relation with the latter. It is possible that the concept of incarnation of the deity led to the imitation ceremonies which often occur in Minoan iconography. Their relation with the deities was expressed via the theatricality of royal appearances. The king-priests, seated on the throne or on raised platforms in the theatral area showed themselves to their subjects, their flock.
Only a few examples from art reveal this connection between political and religious power.
One of them is the seal of the Mother of the Mountains. It depicts two imposing figures,
a male and a female to which divine and administrative properties are
attributed. 
It has been suggested that this representation depicts the king who
drew his prestige from the goddess by prayer and was legitimated by her.
Similar theocratic elements occur in all early civilizations of the Near East. In Egypt, the deification of the king was associated with beliefs surrounding death and life after death. The Pharaohs were considered gods after their death. This does not seem to be the case in Minoan Crete where kings were the incarnations of living divinities, a phenomenon which is closer to the Mesopotamian model of the absolute divine nature of kings.