3. Quality of life: Choose three of the civilizations we have studied in the past 3 weeks and write an essay describing what insight you have gained into the daily life of “ordinary” people. What evidence do you find most compelling about their lives? What evidence do you see for progress over time—for changes and improvements in the quality of people’s lives? Please do not use both Egypt and Rome in this essay.

Mesopotamia is the land between two rivers. In the Mesopotamian social structure, not everyone was equal. The ones with the most power in society were priests because they were believed to have been chosen by the gods. The kings, officials, and soldiers followed in power. Then came the merchants, traders, and craftsmen. The farmers were next and with the least amount of power, were the slaves. Slaves were either born into slavery, had been war captives, or had fallen into slavery through liability. Slaves worked in households as servants, and other tedious roles. Slaves could buy their freedom, if they were able. The most of the population in ancient Mesopotamia were farmers. Women did not have much independence in Mesopotamia. Society viewed women as property of their father and/or her husband. Richer women from powerful families had much more independence. Some women were not allowed to work outside of the house, whilst some held jobs selling housewares they had created. The Code of Hammurabi gave women the ability to divorce and own property, though the code still treated women as property. What I find most compelling about their lives is how organized their social structures is formed. The civilization became wealthy and grew in power when the people helped strengthen the cities wall and improved the cities irrigation system.
Men and women had different lives in ancient Greece. Men in Greece mostly dominated the Greek society. They had the right to vote, hold public office, and own private property. Even though men had the most power in Greece, there were different classes between them. Women had fewer rights than men. They were unable to vote, hold public office seats, or even own private property. A women’s place in this society was home and her main duty was taking care of her children. Slavery was a central piece of life in Greece.