Cleopatra, the legendary ruler of Egypt whose story is the basis of many plays and movies, lived from about 69-30 BC. The Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed around 2550 BC. So Cleopatra was certainly not involved in the construction of the Great Pyramid, nor any of Egypt's other pyramids. In fact, as incredible as it sounds, she lived closer in time to the 1969 Moon landing than she did to the construction of the Great Pyramid. At any rate, Cleopatra wasn't really much of a "building" monarch. Most of her time was spent on military strategizing with Rome, as well as her notorious liaisons with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Another way to look at how long ago Egypt's pyramids were constructed is to note that the biblical Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt happened sometime between 1446 and 1290 BC. So the structures were over a thousand years old when Moses led his people from Egypt. They would have already been considered wonders of the world. And if the family of Jesus Christ had made it to Giza when they fled from King Herod, they would certainly have seen the Great Pyramid, which would have already been standing for over two millennia.
More about Cleopatra's life:
- Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Macedonian dynasty founded by Ptolemy, a general under Alexander the Great, in 332 BC.
- Her lover, Mark Antony, fell on his sword when the rumor of her suicide reached him.
- After Mark Antony's burial, Cleopatra realized that Octavian, who had defeated Antony and Cleopatra's armies for control of Rome, would treat her as a conquered captive. She committed suicide, supposedly by forcing an asp to bite her.
