Final answer:
The term 'Queen of the South' often refers to a biblical queen who visited Solomon, but historically significant queens like Hatshepsut also undertook expeditions to distant Punt, gathering exotic goods and symbolizing their expansive reach.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phrase "Queen of the South" is believed to refer to the biblical account of a queen who came from a far region of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, as mentioned in the Bible. However, in historical contexts apart from biblical references, queens such as the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled as a pharaoh, explored distant lands. For example, Hatshepsut sent ships on an expedition to Punt, an area thought to be part of modern-day Somalia or the Horn of Africa, to gather valuable goods such as exotic plants, animals, precious metals, and spices. This location was considered "the ends of the earth" due to the great distance from Egypt and the scarce knowledge about the region at that time. Expeditions like these symbolized the far-reaching influence of monarchs and their kingdoms during that era.