The Acropolis in the Greek capital Athens has been closed during the hottest hours of the day to protect visitors from an intense heatwave gripping the country.
Tourists have been barred from entering the country's most popular attraction from 12:00 to 17:00 (9:00-14:00 GMT).
Athens is sweltering in temperatures of 40C (104F) or more.
Much of southern Europe is experiencing extreme heat with potentially record temperatures expected next week.
There are also fears in Greece of a greater risk of wildfires, especially in areas with high winds. It suffered major wildfires in 2021 in another exceptional heatwave.
In Croatia, fires broke out on Thursday, burning houses and cars in at least one village, Grebastica, on the Dalmatian coast. Officials told Croatian TV on Friday morning that the fire had been brought under control.
Earlier this week, a man in his forties died from the heat after collapsing in northern Italy - while several visitors to the country have collapsed from heatstroke, including a British man outside the Colosseum in Rome.
The cause is the Cerberus heatwave - named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante's Inferno.
It was expected to peak on Friday but Italian weather forecasters are warning that the next heatwave - dubbed Charon after the ferryman who delivered souls into the underworld in Greek mythology - will push temperatures back up above 40C next week.
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