Athenians woke up to the rare sight of the entire capital being blanketed in a thick covering of snow on Tuesday morning. The inclement weather caused traffic chaos in many parts of the capital and halted public transportation.

But what was a headache for some was a delight for others. Following weeks of lockdown due to the pandemic and with movements restricted to the essential, many Athenians headed outside for snowball fights under the Acropolis.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by ONASSIS STEGI (@onassis.stegi)

The enchanting sight of snow blanketing the Acropolis was the result of a weather system dubbed “Medea” sweeping over Greece, beginning on Saturday. While snowfall is common in Greece in the winter at higher elevations – such on the mountains surrounding Athens – it very rarely settles in the city center itself.

Theodoros Kolydas, the head of the National Meteorological Service, was quoted by Reuters as saying the snowfall brought by Medea was the “fiercest, in terms of intensity and volume, in 12 years”.

News photographers immediately headed out to capture the otherworldly scenes from the capital that will likely live long in Athenians memory:

Snowy Athens on Instagram

Of course, the rare weather in Athens also saw Instagram flooded with thousands of snowy posts from photographers and videographers whose creativity was endless. Below are some of our favourites:

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Thethingaboutgreece (@thethingaboutgreece)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by @farawayfarers

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Katerina Katopis-Lykiardopulo (@katerinakatopis)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Katerina Katopis-Lykiardopulo (@katerinakatopis)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Akis Kalamidas (@akiskalamidas)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by I.Koulousis | Travel Filmmaker (@iamjnkstyle)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Apeiro | Agency (@apeiro.agency)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Myrto Papadopoulos (@myrtophoto)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Landscape Photography (@landscape.greece)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Athens Vibe (@athensvibe)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by P K Wachs (@kwax4u)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Giorgos Karananos (@giorgoskarananos)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by DeltaMi (@deltamionline)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by χριστινα (@christinagoutsiou)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by alex.soukoul (@alex.soukoul)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Thomas (@twworkadventures)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Oldie d’ Athènes (@oldie_d.athenes)