You’ve booked your Greek holiday for the crystal clear waters, the year-long sunshine, the awe-inspiring ancient sites. But all that aside, from the way Greek people greet each other to the rituals of shared meals, some cultural nuances offer a more profound insight into the heart of the community than any guided tour would. And just observing how time moves in Greece, gives you a unique perspective about the pace of life.
Which brings me to a question:
What does 8 in the afternoon mean in Greece?
I can hear my husband shouting from the next room ‘it’s called the f-ing evening!’.
But let’s go back a few years.
Shall we meet again for a coffee a bit later, at about 8 in the afternoon?‘, my best friend asked my new British boyfriend on a hot summer day in Athens, 2016. Sounds good, he replied being all British. But what he was really thinking was what on earth is 8 in the afternoon?
The plot started to thicken when my cousin Daphne rang to announce she’s off work at 4 o’ clock in the noon [sic]. I’ll join you too in the afternoon, she said. Chris had had enough at that point so he took the phone off me to point out that it was already afternoon. What, no it isn’t Daphne said. Yes, yes it really is! Chris despaired. Afternoon comes after noon. To confuse matters even more, Daphne wholeheartedly agreed on that last point. However, she argued that ‘noon is not over yet’. So Chris took a deep breath and passed the phone back to me and went to look for a beer.
I don’t think Daphne knows what noon means, he shouted from the kitchen. And while he was technically right, I knew it was time to introduce him to a very important concept in the Greek culture.
What is mesimeri?
As kids, when learning English as a second language we were told noon means ‘mesimeri’. However mesimeri (literally meaning ‘midday’) is a very different thing to noon and this is where things often start getting lost in translation. Five minutes to 12, it’s morning. Five minutes after 12, it’s afternoon. Or is it? Do mornings really turn into afternoons like that, in a blink of the eye?
Not in Greece, they don’t! Sitting comfortably between morning and afternoon, you have mesimeri, stretching from 13.00 to 16.00 or even 17.30 in the summer. They are the hottest hours of the day, when schoolkids come home, labourers finish their working day, shop attendants break for their main meal of the day and a whole generation of grandparents and great-grandparents lie down for their nap.
The hours from 15.00 to 17.00 are actually official quiet hours, when all construction and roadworks stop – you would not dream of knocking on a neighbour’s door, let alone using a hammer drill.
Evil spirits are out to get you
As a kid, I spent my summers in the countryside, where my grandmother always made it clear we were to come back to the house at 2 and not to re emerge until at least 5. Bonus points if we actually took a nap. Failing that, sitting quietly and watching Captain Planet (and later on Saved by the Bell) was good enough.
Any stray kid out in the streets at that time would be met with curtains twitching, ‘tsk tsk tsk!‘ and ‘do you not have a home?’. As Yiayia wanted to avoid us looking like Huckleberry Finn in the eyes of the neighbours and bringing disgrace to the family she took this very seriously. She would herd us inside with a fly swatter and enforce the rule with the help of the supernatural. Any protests or talking back from us, she would calmly remind us: Lady Midday is coming.
Moments later, the window shutters would close violently from the outside with a big whoooosh (they were the sliding kind). By the time we looked at each other with dread, Yiayia was standing behind us calmly remarking ‘hmmm, I can see she’s been then’. To this day I cannot conceive how she would make it out of the house to close the shutters, then reappear behind us in seconds. I am reserving a small doubt that it was Lady Midday that in fact made an appearance to make sure we stayed in and watched Saved by the Bell.
Lady Midday returns
I hadn’t thought about her in years. Then one day, I was winding down with some no-pressure Duolingo when my husband was slaying monsters.
A haunting laughter caught my attention. What are you killing there? I asked. One second, he said. The creature then lunges forward with lightning speed, her gnarled claws aiming to strike. With a swift sidestep, Chris dodges her attack. He counters with a precise slash of his sword. The hag lets out a bloodcurdling shriek as she dissipates into a cloud of dark mist.
Chris then paused Witcher 3 and said it was a noon wraith or something. A chill went down my spine as the memories came flooding back.
The Witcher is Polish-made and full of Eastern European folklore. Turns out ‘Meshmero’ as my Yiayia would call her, is a famous demonic character in many Slavic countries, portrayed as a beautiful woman, a little girl or an old hag (I always imagined her as the latter) roaming the fields on a hot summer day. She can only be seen during the hottest hours and her presence can bring headaches, paralysis, madness or even death.
Legend has it that to avoid her wrath, field workers had to take a break at midday. What lead such a myth to be born?
Meshmero or Poludnitsa, as she’s called in Slavic countries, is the personification of a heat stroke.
So, back to our original question
What is 8 in the afternoon in Greece?
As you can imagine, with mesimeri occupying such a big part of the day, everything else is pushed back: Afternoons start at 5, evenings start at 9, nights start at midnight. This is why you might hear Greek people say 3 o’ clock at midday, 7 in the afternoon, 10 in the evening.
This is reflected not only in the Greek language but also in people’s habits. You can see parents taking toddlers to the playground at 7pm and bars full of students sipping espressos at 8pm. Theatre showings don’t start until 9pm, and if you show up at a restaurant at 10.30pm they’ll be happy to seat you.
And as a bit of anecdotal evidence to support the above, I have a blurry memory of a 19-year-old me waking up from a refreshing nap at 11pm and heading out for drinks. The very thought of that fills me with horror now, as there’s NOTHING I appreciate more than an early night. And yes, this absolutely absurd behaviour had to do with my young age, however only in part: whether you’re young or old, Greece is a country of night owls.
This might sound really οdd to you (as it does to me after 10 years living in the UK) however keep in mind climate can play a big role in shaping cultural habits and sleeping patterns. The mild mediterranean nights lead to leisurely dinners and lively conversations in big company. As a result, Greeks may naturally adopt later bed times.
Takeaway / Will that affect someone visiting Greece?
No, unless you want it to.
So yes, the practice of laying low during the hot hours is extremely common in rural areas, with traces of it in the cities too.
Having said that, this is unlikely to affect a visitor used to a different daily routine. Department stores are always open and restaurants cater at all times. Greek people are used to having international visitors with different eating, drinking and sleeping habits (specially during the high season) and the hospitality industry is geared towards that.
However, while exploring Greece, this insight into the flow of a Greek day might inform the pace of your holiday a little. And while no one will threaten you with a visit from an evil spirit so you can take a nap, you might want to avoid the face-melting heat of midday and stay in your nice air-conditioned room until 5pm.
PS#1. ‘Only in Greece’ might have been a bit of a lie; People in Spain, Latin America, Southern Italy, Middle East and parts of South Asia also have midday habits similar to ‘mesimeri’.
PS#2. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Does your culture have a midday siesta? If you went to Greece on a holiday what time did you end up having dinner? Are you Greek and if so did your grandmother make you lie down after lunch? Do you remember Captain Planet? Did I forget to mention anything? Let me know in the comments!
Related: A complete guide on ordering food in Greece
Related: 13 kid friendly things to do in Athens (that are not ancient sites)
