In spite of its nearness to the sea, the climate of Athens is continental rather than marine in its extremes of temperature. In the three hottest months of summer the thermometer stands at about 95° in the shade, though this heat is made bearable by a cool breeze from the sea at evening. For the other nine months of the year the wind usually blows from the land, that is from the cold Balkan mountains.
The plain of Athens is sheltered to some extent by its circle of hills; it is only when these are themselves snow-covered that the cold is intense. It is strange that the average Athenian house is built without heating apparatus. Not till Parnes shows a snowy cap does the householder bestir himself to buy a stove. The ideal time for visiting Greece is April or May; but the other months may well be enjoyed by one prepared for varieties of temperature.
The variability of the Athenian climate will prevent the town from becoming a winter health resort, although the weather does not change from day to day as in England. For better or worse the sunshine or the rain persists for at least ten days at a time. Yet from season to season it is impossible to prophesy what will be in store. I have known a winter made up of a succession of balmy days; another with black frost lasting for weeks, and a third with months of steady rain. In April especially a sample of all kinds of weather may be expected. The traveller must be content to take a supply of both winter and summer clothing.
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