Herodotus described the construction of the Great Pyramid in his work The Histories.
The Greek historian visited Egypt in the fifth century BCE and discussed the monument in Book 2 of his account. He identified its builder as Khufu, whom he called Cheops, and reported that construction took about 20 years. He also described a long causeway and a workforce organized in rotating groups. These details make Herodotus one of the earliest major surviving Western writers to discuss the Great Pyramid.
His account is valuable but should not be treated as a modern archaeological report. The pyramid had already stood for roughly two millennia when he wrote, so Herodotus depended on interpreters, local informants, priests, and traditions that may have mixed accurate memories with errors. Some stories he repeated, including claims about harsh royal rule and enormous labor forces, remain disputed or have been reinterpreted.
Diodorus Siculus and Pliny the Elder also wrote about Egyptian monuments, but they lived later. Herodotus is the canonical answer because he gave the best-known early narrative specifically discussing the pyramid’s construction.