The unusual weather covered the Acropolis with snow on Tuesday (February 16), turning the iconic location of Athens into a Christmas card scene.
An aerial image of the complex, which is situated on a fortified hill above Athens, shows the Parthenon against a white background. The smaller Erechtheum, a temple dedicated to the gods Athena and Poseidon, is also visible.
Snow is a rare sight in Athens, but much of Europe has experienced exceptionally cold temperatures in the past week. According Associated Press, workers Eiffel Tower in France he had to use a torch to melt the ice collected in the monument. Significant snowstorms also hit the United Kingdom and much of Eastern Europe when a series of low-pressure systems brought cold air from the Arctic to the south, where it collided with the continent’s humid and warmer air.
In Athens, some residents faced power cuts and shutdown on public transport due to heavy, wet snowfall. Others blew up their skis on city hills, according to AP.
The natural slope of the Acropolis has been fortified since at least the 13th century BC, when the top of the hill was the site of the home of the local Mycenaean ruler, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) The elegant temples that still exist were built in the 5th century BC
The Parthenon was erected as a celebration of the Greeks’ victory over the Persians, who invaded in 480 BC and destroyed an earlier temple that had previously been on the same site. In addition to the Erechtheum, UNESCO’s World Heritage Site also includes a monumental portal known as Propylaea and the Nike Athena Temple, a small structure in the southwest corner of the hill.
The snow on the Acropolis is doomed to melt quickly. Temperatures in Athens are expected to reach 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday (February 16), with temperatures around 60 F (15 C) over the weekend. February temperatures in Athens were around 57 F (14 C) as high, with lows around 44 F (6 C).
Originally published on Live Science