Fanned by strong winds, flames tore through bone-dry forests in the Peloponnese, the peninsula to the south of Athens, and Evia island to the northeast of the capital.

Planes and helicopters dropped thousands of litres (gallons) of water on the blaze but authorities were forced to evacuate 27 villages in the Peloponnese as the flames threatened to engulf them.

At least 63 people have died, including 59 in the Peloponnese alone.

The old and frail were suffering most.

"I am in total despair," wept Dimitra Agrida, 83, after she was evacuated from the southern Peloponnese village of Smyrneika to a hotel.

Greek authorities seemed increasingly convinced that arsonists had a hand in the disaster.

Seven people were charged with starting fires and anti-terrorist prosecutor Dimitris Papagelopoulos announced he was opening a preliminary investigation.

A further 26 people have been charged with lesser offences linked to a series of fires that have blighted Greece since early July.

A reward of up to one million euros (1.36 million dollars) has been offered to help catch arsonists.

In the village of Chrisafa, residents who used household hoses to fight back fires that had threatened to gut their homes on Friday were in no doubt that criminal gangs were responsible.

"They set fire to homes so efficiently and they did it while the wind was blowing up a storm," Costas Kolovas, a farmer, told AFP.

One possible motive could be that unscrupulous property developers are hoping to move in on the areas where forest has been destroyed.

Karamanlis has insisted however that trees will be re-planted, partly to prevent illegal construction.

The government said the general election would go ahead as planned on September 16 despite the national disaster.

Karamanlis is thought likely to win a second term in office, but he was scrambling on Monday to limit the political damage from criticism that the authorities' response had been inadequate.

"We are continuing a determined struggle against the fires," the prime minister said, adding that the victims of the disaster and not political point-scoring were his priority.

As 800 exhausted Greek firefighters and 800 soldiers struggled to contain the flames, the international community came to Greece's aid.

France dispatched four water-bombing planes and 62 firefighters and Italy sent two planes as part of what the European Union said was the largest ever offer of emergency assistance to a member state.

Israel said 55 firefighters and three helicopters would head to the area and Greece's arch-rival Turkey contributed a fire-fighting plane.

In forests ravaged by the fires, a thick carpet of ash lay among blackened trees stripped bare by the flames.

But Greece's historic treasures seemed safe, at least for now.

In a precautionary measure, firefighters surrounded the site of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, which had narrowly escaped the flames on Sunday.

Fires also broke out near Athens on Monday, forcing residents to flee their homes, but the blaze on a mountain north of the capital was quickly brought under control.

Ash and smoke cast a pall over the north of the city.

There was some good news for firefighters when weather forecasters said wind speeds would drop on Tuesday to about 50 kilometres per hour (31 miles per hour) from 70 kilometres per hour (43 miles per hour) in recent days.

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