ZAP’S FACTS!
ANCIENT

Cleopatra lived closer in time to us than to the building of the pyramids.

The pyramids were already over 2,000 years old by the time Cleopatra was born.

2 min read
Cleopatra lived closer in time to us than to the building of the pyramids.
THE FULL STORY

Cleopatra is the most famous queen of ancient Egypt, so people often imagine her wandering around freshly built pyramids. But the math is wild: the Great Pyramid was already nearly 2,500 years old when Cleopatra was born in 69 BCE.

Compare that to today. Cleopatra died in 30 BCE, which is about 2,054 years before today. The pyramids were built around 2560 BCE - about 4,545 years before today. That means Cleopatra is roughly 400 years closer to us in time than she was to the original pyramid builders.

For Cleopatra, the Great Pyramid wasn’t a shiny new monument - it was an ancient tourist attraction. Old enough that no one alive could remember who built it. Old enough that the original limestone covering was already cracking off. The pyramids were ancient history to ancient Egypt.

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