The prevailing weather patterns in the Aegean - in particular harsh storms from the east especially during the winter - combine with the geology of mainland Greece to create an unusual feature of its eastern coastline. The storms erode the land until they reach the hard bedrock of the mountains. The resulting coastline consists of steep, rugged cliffs with few harbors or safe anchorages. Wherever a mountain is directly exposed to the storms - Mt. Athos (see figure 1.3), Magnesia, the island of Euboea, Cape Malea - such a coastline arises. But any body of water behind the exposed mountain - for example, the strait between Euboea and the mainland - remains calm with a gentle coastline replete with harbors on both sides. Thus, ships sailing northward from Attica kept to the west of Euboea. In the south, Cape Malea (see figure 1.4) proved so prone to storms and so dangerous for mariners that circumnavigation of the Pelopon-nese rarely took place (major naval expeditions were the one exception). Hence, traffic west from the Aegean passed over the Isthmus and through the Gulf of Corinth.
Figure 1.3 The exposed eastern side of Mt. Athos. Source: Gabriel, Http://commons .wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Mount_Athos_by_cod_gabriel_20.jpg (accessed 10th January 2013). CC BY 2.0
(Continued)
Figure 1.4 Satellite image of Cape Malea. Source: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. “The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.” <Http://eol. jsc. nasa. gov/scripts/sseop/QuickView. pl? directory=ESC&ID=ISS015-E -9024>01/10/2013 12:17:06
Such as flax in Messenia, can be planted; orange and lemon groves today cover the plain of Argos near the sea. The general paucity of water, however, means that the staple grain in Greece tends to be the less nutritious barley that grows in lower-quality soil and requires less water; only in a few regions, like the plain of Eleusis, can the more nutritious wheat be planted.
Towards the south the temperature, even during the winter, remains fairly warm. In the north, however, the winters can be bitterly cold. The severity of the winter can also vary a great deal according to altitude, with the lower regions having considerably warmer weather. Although one can make some generalizations, where climate is concerned, every region in Greece is unique.
World History
