Final answer:
The attributes of being mountainous and rocky, having fewer arable lands, and being virtually surrounded by sea describe the Greek Peninsula, which relied significantly on sea trade due to its challenging agricultural environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mesopotamia is a region known for its stark geographical contrasts, including deserts and mountain ranges, with early urban centers supported by irrigation systems from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. However, when describing an area that is mountainous and rocky with fewer arable lands, which is virtually surrounded by sea, this does not fit the description of Mesopotamia but rather that of the Greek Peninsula. The Greek Peninsula's topography indeed made it difficult for agriculture, so the ancient Greeks relied on the sea for trade and resources.
Historically, the Greek Peninsula lacked the large fertile river valleys that characterized Mesopotamia or the Nile River Valley in Egypt, both of which were the birthplaces of early civilizations due to their rich agricultural conditions. In contrast, the Greeks dealt with rugged terrain and the necessity of trade due to inadequate natural resources on the land.
It is also mentioned that the Mycenaeans heavily depended on the sea because of the challenging living conditions on the Greek Peninsula. Unlike the river-fed fertile soils found in other early civilizations, Greece's environment consisted mostly of mountains, hills, and scrubland with poor, rocky soil. Thus, the correct answer to the description given in the student's question is C) Attributes of the Greek Peninsula.