Did Cleopatra Really Live Closer In Time To The First Lunar Landing Than The Great Pyramids?

By Rolando Y. Wee on March 13 2019 in World Facts







Drawings of Cleopatra.

Accomplishments With Lives At Stake

Cleopatra was born ~2,500 years after the Great Pyramid at Giza was built, and ~2,000 years before the first lunar landing. That fact means that Cleopatra is closer to our present time than to the times of Ancient Egypt's early dynastic past. There are other unique facts that are both associated with the Giza Pyramids and the first lunar landing as well. The Great Pyramid at Giza took thousands of laborers to complete, and the Apollo mission also took thousands of employees to perfect and launch. Cleopatra was also served by thousands of her Egyptian subjects. Blood was shed during the building of the Great Pyramid at Giza, and the Apollo mission manned launch-pad test also killed three astronauts in a fiery accident. Cleopatra herself ruled with blood on her hands.

Putting The Timeline In Context

The Great Pyramid were completed around 2560 BC, and Cleopatra lived in 30 BC. In 1958, Pizza Hut opened its first restaurant, and that event is closer to Cleopatra's lifetime by 500 years than the Giza constructions. The following events in 1960 were also closer to Cleopatra's lifetime than the completion of the Great Pyramids at Giza. In the early 1960s, 15 African countries achieved independence from colonial rule, John F. Kennedy became President of the United States, the US started its war campaign in Vietnam by sending 3,500 soldiers to that country, a Soviet missile shot down a US U2 spy plane, the construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced, the Irish Republican Army began its fight against British forces, one of Chile's largest recorded earthquakes occurred and caused a tsunami as well, Hurricane Donna hit New England and Florida killing 50 people, and the world-renowned film Ben Hur opened in theaters across the US.

Not As Long Ago As You Might Think

On the other side of the equation, there are events that happened at the time of the Great Pyramid at Giza, well before (around 2,500 years before) the birth of Cleopatra. The Early Dynastic Period of Egypt was at war with Mesopotamia, the Harappan civilization began its rise to power in what is now Pakistan, the Old Kingdom started its reign in Egypt and Pharaoh Khufu lived around this time, the Pyramid at Giza was completed around 2550 BC, the first Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia was established at this time, China's first Dynasty was established by its first emperor (named Huang Di), the mysterious Stonehenge Circles began their construction (which lasted for some 500 years before completion), camels were domesticated for the first time, and the Neolithic Period culture of the Butmir people existed during this very same time in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some More Unique Facts and Trivia

Cleopatra was a Greek Macedonian and descended from Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Ptolemy and his descendants ruled Egypt for three centuries after Alexander's conquest of Egypt. Cleopatra was an intellectual who spoke nine languages, including, obviously, Greek and Egyptian. She was also said to have had more charm than beauty, through which Antony and Cleopatra became lovers and later married to have three children. She also had a son by Caesar. The Apollo 11 Moon Mission was started by then-President John F. Kennedy, who challenged the US Congress to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. However, it was President Richard Nixon who saw this grand mission fulfilled, as it was achieved on July 20th, 1969. The Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed for Pharaoh Khufu. It remained the highest structure on earth until the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris in 1889. The Great Pyramid is the tallest and biggest among the pyramids in Giza. The name Cheops is Greek for Khufu, and is also used interchangeably to describe the Great Pyramid of Giza (a.k.a. the Pyramid of Cheops or Pyramid of Khufu).