The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the 6.5 magnitude quake occurred at 7:14 a.m. and was centered 77 miles southwest of Athens in the southern Peloponnese region. Photo by bbc.com
A powerful earthquake hit Greece early on Sunday and was felt strongest in the capital Athens, shaking buildings and waking people from their sleep.
The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the 6.5 magnitude quake occurred at 7:14 a.m. and was centered 77 miles southwest of Athens in the southern Peloponnese region. The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.1.
There were no early reports of casualties or damage.
"This earthquake occurred deep under land ... and these types of earthquakes have certain characteristics. So it appears the danger from this event is over,'' Gerasimos Papadopoulos, the institute's director of research, told the media.
Greek media said they had received calls from people who felt the quake in several Greek cities, mainly in the south.
"The house was shaking badly," a woman from the northern Athens suburb of Maroussi told a radio station.
Residents of the southern town of Kalamata said their houses shook for 40 seconds.
BBC Athens correspondent Malcolm Brabant said the quake shook his house vigorously for 20 seconds and sent him sprinting for the front door.
According to BBC reports the quake was also felt in Italy.
The last serious earthquake in Greece killed more than 100 people in September 1999.