Kevin Reilly Cities And Civilization Summary

In Kevin Reilly’s article, “Cities and Civilization”, he allows us to examine the selections that show the overall transformation of the urban revolution in both Mesopotamia and Egypt. Reilly argues that “civilization” and urbanism developed differently in various places. He offers various examples with evidence for this assertion, but on one major point, gender roles, this is inaccurate. Even though civilizations have developed in various places, it did not prevent them from designating gender roles and sharing the same power complex in which men had a higher place in society than women. No matter the geographic location or climate, Patriarchy was prevalent throughout the Ancient World, from Mesopotamia to Egypt. This is shown throughout the several texts in the article.
Hammurabi’s Code is a good example of patriarchal attitudes in Babylon . Two
And "If a man wish to separate from his wife who has borne him children, then he shall give that wife her dowry, and the right to use the field, garden, and property so she can rear her children.”These laws reflected a belief that female sexuality was dangerous and needed to be controlled. Upon marriage, a woman was then essentially the property of her husband, while the husband was free to have intercourse with whomever he wanted. Many laws were placed in regard to women's dowries and rights in divorce. Dowries is any type of property or money brought to