Within the framework of a Mediterranean model evaluation experiment, a Princeton Ocean Model POM of the Mediterranean has been developed in University of Athens. In this paper, the results of the coarse resolution version Ž. y1 1r48=1r48 are presented. SST and SSS were restored to monthly climatology with a time constant of 1 m day . The seasonal variability of the general circulation was found to be in a good agreement with the observed patterns and some Ž. known features have been modelled for the first time. The implied surface fluxes heat loss and salt gain were too weak and resulted in absence of deep water formation.