Spiders in Greece
Greece has one spider that matters medically — the Mediterranean black widow of dry grassland, olive terraces and island scrub — and one rarer second concern, the Mediterranean recluse. The big, fast spiders that frighten visitors, the huntsman on a taverna wall and the wolf spider on a warm path, are harmless. No Greek spider is deadly, and bites of any kind are uncommon.
On this page
- What spiders live in Greece?
- Which spiders in Greece are actually dangerous?
- Where you meet them in Greece
- Spider season in Greece
- Names and species that get muddled
- Common Spiders in Greece
- Biggest Spiders in Greece
- Most Venomous Spiders in Greece
- Less Venomous Spiders in Greece
- Living with Greece's spiders
- Frequently asked questions
What spiders live in Greece?
Greece is a Mediterranean country with a mountain interior and thousands of islands, and its spiders divide along those lines. The hot, stony lowlands — phrygana scrub, olive terraces, dry-stone walls — hold a classic Mediterranean fauna. The Pindos mountains and the wetter north hold central European species instead, and Crete and the south-east Aegean add Anatolian elements found nowhere else in Europe.
Most of what visitors photograph is a web. Wheel webs across paths and garden gates belong to orb-weavers: the brown, white-marked cross orb-weaver in cooler areas, the chalky lobed argiope and the banded wasp spider in dry grassland from midsummer, and the small early-season Agalenatea redii on low scrub. The tent-web spider Cyrtophora citricola builds dense colonies of sheets over prickly pear and coastal hedges.
Untidy tangles in cellars and outbuildings are cobweb spiders, including the triangulate cobweb spider with its zigzag of dark markings, and the long-legged marbled cellar spider is in almost every bathroom. Flower heads hide ambushers such as the colour-changing goldenrod crab spider; stony ground belongs to hunters: the bulky radiated wolf spider, the flat grey Mediterranean spiny false wolf spider that walks indoors each autumn, and in spring the velvet-black male ladybird spider with its scarlet, spotted abdomen.
Which spiders in Greece are actually dangerous?
One, and it lives in the countryside rather than in towns. The Mediterranean black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, known in Greek as the karakourtas, is a velvety black widow with up to thirteen red, orange or cream spots on the upper abdomen. It spins a low tangle under stones, in grass tussocks, in rodent burrows and at the base of dry-stone walls. Bites happen almost entirely to people working the land by hand in summer — clearing rocks, cutting brush, harvesting — not to anyone on a beach.
A real bite starts as little more than a pinprick, then brings cramping muscle pain within an hour that spreads to the abdomen, back and thighs, with sweating, nausea and restlessness. Latrodectism is unpleasant for a day or two, but Greek hospitals treat it routinely with pain relief, supportive care and, in severe cases, antivenom. Deaths are not a feature of modern treatment.
The second name worth knowing is the Mediterranean recluse, Loxosceles rufescens — small, tan, with a darker violin mark behind six eyes arranged in three pairs. It hides in cellars, ruins and storerooms and bites so rarely that confirmed Greek cases are scarce. Most slow-healing sores blamed on recluses here turn out to be bacterial infections.
The brown widow, Latrodectus geometricus, has arrived with trade and is now found in parts of Greece, including Crete and the Aegean islands. It is mottled tan with an orange hourglass and a spiky egg sac, and its bite is generally milder and more localised than its black relative's. Nothing else here is medically significant: false widows, huntsman, wolf, crab and jumping spiders cause at worst a brief sore mark.
Bitten? Wash the site with soap and water, apply a cold pack and keep the limb still. Photograph the spider if you can do so safely. Go to a hospital or call 166 if cramping pain spreads from the bite, or if sweating, vomiting or chest tightness follow, and for any bite on a small child. Do not cut, suck or burn the wound.
Where you meet them in Greece
Houses, tavernas and cellars
Three groups come indoors. Cellar spiders hang upside down in bathrooms; cobweb spiders take shutters and garage corners; and in September the Mediterranean spiny false wolf spider crosses living-room floors looking for a mate. It is flat, hairy and fast, which is why it is reported as something dangerous every autumn. It is not. Our house spiders guide covers the indoor group.
Olive groves, terraces and dry-stone walls
This is widow country: sun-baked ground, tussocky grass, loose rock and old field walls are what the karakourtas needs, which is why gloves matter when you clear stones on a hillside. The same terrain holds the lobed argiope and, under slabs, the huntsman spiders of the genus Eusparassus.
Mountains and the wetter north
Pindos, Olympus and Greek Macedonia feel like central Europe: cross orb-weavers in damp woodland, funnel weavers in banks, wolf spiders on forest tracks. It is also where the ladybird spider is most often seen, the male running over spring heath in search of the larger, plain black female in her silk-lined burrow.
Spider season in Greece
Spring belongs to the hunters: wolf spiders and jumping spiders become obvious on warm rock in March and April, male ladybird spiders wander in April and May, and female wolf spiders carry egg sacs into June.
The peak runs from late August to October. Orb-weaver females reach full size and their webs get big enough to walk into, male ground hunters roam for mates, and calls about large spiders in island houses cluster in September. Winter shuts the mountains down, but the mild coasts and southern islands keep going all year under bark and in wall cavities.
Names and species that get muddled
Older Greek spider lists carry three errors worth unpicking. The redback, Latrodectus hasseltii, appears on several; it is Australian and does not occur in Greece. A widow here with red markings is the Mediterranean black widow, or occasionally the introduced brown widow.
"Cross spider" and "European garden spider" are two names for the same animal, Araneus diadematus, so a list carrying both counts one species twice. And huntsman spiders are routinely called dangerous: Eusparassus walckenaeri, the biggest huntsman in Europe and a star of Crete and the Aegean, has a legspan approaching the width of a hand, but weak venom and no medical record to speak of.
The confusion that actually matters is Steatoda mistaken for a widow. False widows are glossy and globular like the real thing but brown to purplish-black, with a pale crescent across the front of the abdomen and no hourglass underneath. No hourglass, no widow. Harvestmen, meanwhile, are not spiders at all: one oval body, no silk, no venom.
Common Spiders in Greece
- Cross Spider
- European Garden Spider
- Wasp Spiders
- Tropical tent web spider (Cyrtophora citricola)
- Lady Bird Spider
- Gorse-Orb Weaver (Agalenatea redii)
- Zoropsis or False Wolf Spider
Biggest Spiders in Greece
- Radiated Wolf Spider (Hogna radiata)
- Stone Huntsman Spider (genus Eusparassus)
- Walckenaer's Huntsman Spider (Eusparassus walckenaeri)
Most Venomous Spiders in Greece
Cobweb Spiders
Cobweb SpidersMediterranean Black Widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus)Identify the Mediterranean black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus): the thirteen spots, its steppe habitat, its web, and how serious the 
Cobweb SpidersBrown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus)Identify the brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) by its orange hourglass and spiky egg sac, and learn how its bite compares with a black w
Cobweb SpidersRedback Spider (Latrodectus hasseltii)Identify the redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii): the female's red stripe, the gum-footed web, where it lives, and how dangerous its biteLess Venomous Spiders in Greece
Crab Spiders (Thomisidae)
Orb Weavers
Orb WeaversCross Orb Weaver (Araneus diadematus)Identify the cross orb weaver (Araneus diadematus) by the white cross on its abdomen: size, colour, web, egg sac, range and whether the bite
Orb WeaversLobed Argiope (Argiope lobata)Identify the lobed argiope (Argiope lobata): the scalloped silver abdomen, the big orb web, its range from Spain to South Africa, and how haCobweb Spiders/Tangle Web Spiders (Theridiidae)
Cellar Spiders
Living with Greece's spiders
Spraying a Greek house for spiders achieves nothing a screen door and a little tidying will not. They eat mosquitoes, sandflies and moths, and an emptied corner refills within a fortnight.
- Wear gloves for dry-stone walls, rock piles and firewood — widow habitat.
- Shake out boots, gardening gloves and sunbeds left outside overnight.
- Fit door brushes and window screens rather than reaching for an aerosol.
- Move an indoor spider outside with a glass and a sheet of card.
The fauna of neighbouring Turkey overlaps closely with Greece's own, especially in the eastern Aegean, and is a useful cross-reference for anything you cannot place.
Frequently asked questions
Are there dangerous spiders in Greece?
One species matters: the Mediterranean black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, of dry grassland, olive terraces and island scrub. Its bite causes cramping pain, sweating and nausea and is treated routinely in hospital. The Mediterranean recluse is a rare second concern. Every other Greek spider causes nothing worse than a brief sore mark.
Are there deadly spiders in Greece?
No. No Greek spider has caused a death under modern medical care. Latrodectism from a black widow bite is managed with pain relief, supportive treatment and antivenom in severe cases. The large huntsman and wolf spiders that alarm visitors have venom with no medical significance for people at all.
What is the biggest spider in Greece?
Walckenaer's huntsman, Eusparassus walckenaeri, the largest huntsman spider in Europe, found in rock crevices and under slabs in Crete and the Aegean. Its legspan can approach the width of a hand. The radiated wolf spider, Hogna radiata, is the bulkiest ground hunter. Neither is dangerous to people.
Does the redback spider live in Greece?
No. The redback, Latrodectus hasseltii, is Australian and does not occur in Greece, despite appearing on several older lists. The widow you can actually meet in Greece is the Mediterranean black widow, with red or orange spots on top of the abdomen, plus the introduced brown widow in some coastal and island areas.
Are there brown recluse spiders in Greece?
Not the American brown recluse. Greece has its Mediterranean relative, Loxosceles rufescens, in cellars, ruins, storerooms and cave mouths, and it bites extremely rarely. Slow-healing sores blamed on recluses in Greece are usually bacterial skin infections and should be assessed by a doctor rather than self-diagnosed.
What are the most common spiders in Greece?
The marbled cellar spider in bathrooms and porches, the tropical tent-web spider in colonies over coastal hedges and prickly pear, the lobed argiope and wasp spider in dry grassland, the cross orb-weaver in cooler areas, and the flat grey Mediterranean spiny false wolf spider that walks indoors each autumn.
Are huntsman spiders in Greece venomous?
They have venom, as all spiders do, but it has no medical significance for humans. A bite from a Greek huntsman is uncommon, happens only if the spider is pressed against skin, and produces brief local pain and redness. They are shy, nocturnal hunters that run from anything larger than an insect.
How do I tell a black widow from a false widow in Greece?
Check the underside. A Mediterranean black widow has red, orange or cream spots on top of the abdomen and an hourglass beneath. Steatoda false widows are brown to purplish-black with a pale crescent across the front edge of the abdomen and no hourglass. No hourglass, no widow.
When are spiders most active in Greece?
From late August to October. Female orb-weavers reach full size and their webs become impossible to miss, while adult male ground hunters roam for mates and end up indoors. Spring brings wolf spiders, jumping spiders and male ladybird spiders into the open, and the southern islands stay active all winter.
Published November 30, 2023 · Last updated September 14, 2026