Europe heatwave leads to strikes at popular tourist attraction in Athens, Greece

Tourists shelter from the glaring sun during a visit to the Parthenon, as a heat wave rips through Athens, Greece on July 20. Photo / Milos Bicanski, Getty

Workers atop the Acropolis of Athens are striking to protest working conditions that involve temperatures surpassing 45C, as sweltering heatwaves continue to sweep throughout Europe during the busy summer season.

At the end of last week, the Greek government closed the Acropolis for three days due to the ongoing heatwave, as temperatures on the popular Unesco site soared.

With a brief period of slightly cooler temperatures, the government moved to reopen the popular tourist spot this week. However, in anticipation of the higher temperatures forecasted towards the end of this week, workers at the site unanimously voted to strike.

The Panhellenic Union of Employees for the Guarding of Antiquities (PEYFA) announced that they would stop work for four hours from 4pm, “for reasons of protecting the health of employees and visitors”. The strikes began on Thursday and have forced the site to shorten the opening hours for visitors (closing at 4pm instead of 8pm).

The Acropolis of Athens is a stony hill, home to an ancient citadel above the city, housing many notable structures of major historical significance.

One of the major pulls for tourists is the Parthenon, which sits at the very top of the Acropolis. In May this year, the site received at least 14,000 visitors, according to the Organisation of Cultural Resources.

Athens has been fighting wildfires caused by the brutal temperatures and the sweltering conditions across Europe have led health officials to put out warnings ahead of heatwaves, in an effort to keep both locals and tourists safe.

The heatwaves ripping through Europe have been given differing mythical names, in an attempt to capture the severity of the temperatures. Charon is one of the most prominent figures whose name is being used to characterise the extreme weather — in Greek mythology, the character is the ferryman of Hades.