The speed with which the fire spread caught many people unawares
Officials raised the death toll from the fires over the past two days to 46.
Searches of burnt cars, houses and fields were still turning up the remains of those who could not escape.
Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis called the situation "an unspeakable tragedy". The government appealed for EU help and later declared a state of emergency.
Greek newspapers are calling the southern Peloponnese region a "crematorium", says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.
The fires have been moving so fast that people have been cut off before they could escape. With emergency services overstretched, desperate residents and local officials called television and radio stations to appeal for help.
We are living through an unspeakable tragedy today
Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis
In pictures: Forest fires Witnesses tell of fire horror
Some of the worst fires are concentrated along an 80km (50 mile) stretch on the west coast of the Peloponnese to Mani in the very south of the peninsula. But others are burning across the country.
Two new fires broke out near Athens, forcing a road between the city and its airport to be closed
A monastery and homes were evacuated as flames closed in on the capital
Arson was suspected in several cases, with 20 new fires starting during the night, a fire department spokesman said
All top football matches were postponed on the opening weekend of the season
France responded to Greece's appeal for help, sending two water-dropping planes, which were scheduled to arrive on Saturday afternoon, AFP reported
Family found
At least nine people are reported to have burnt to death in their cars as they attempted to flee the flames near the town of Zaharo, west of the Peloponnese.
The Associated Press reported that a car had crashed into a fire engine, causing a traffic jam from which people could not escape as the flames advanced.
Zaharo seemed to be the centre of the disaster. Fire crews said they had found at least 30 bodies in villages near the town, as they searched burned out cars and houses.
"It's a tragedy," an eyewitness told Greek television. "I can see the burnt bodies of a mother holding her child in her arms. Further away there are more bodies. It's terrible."
Fire officials confirmed that a mother and her four children had perished, as had three firefighters.
A local prefect close to the scene described it as horrific.
"The situation is extremely dire... The speed with which this fire has been spreading is astonishing," said the mayor of Zaharo, Pantazis Chronopoulos.
Six deaths were confirmed in the seaside town of Areopolis in the Mani region of Greece's deep south. Hotels and several villages have been evacuated, fire officials said.
'Incredible efforts'
But hot, dry winds were expected to continue through Saturday, gusting up to gale force and fanning the flames.
The winds hampered the use of fire-fighting planes, though some helicopters have managed to take flight.
Fires have consumed hillsides in Taygetos, in southern Greece
"The helicopters are operating whenever the weather conditions permit... The pilots are making incredible efforts," fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said.
The overstretched fire services are being helped by the military, but our correspondent says troops do not seem trained or equipped for the task, and are no match for the intense flames.
A hot, dry summer, with temperatures recently touching 40C (104F) has left much of the country vulnerable. On the island of Evia, north of the capital, three villages were evacuated as a fire approached.
"If we don't stop this now there will be nothing left," said Sofia Moutsou, mayor of the town of Styra.
Friday and Saturday have been the deadliest days of a terrible summer spent battling forest fires, transforming what had previously been seen as predominantly an ecological disaster into a human one, our correspondent says.
There has been widespread public anger at the government's response, which many have criticised as inadequate and slow.
Prime Minister Karamanlis visited Zaharo late on Friday, and was to chair an emergency meeting in Athens on Saturday.
He is under considerable political pressure, as he faces an early general election in three weeks' time.
Imagen satelital de Grecia marcando la localización de los incendios.


El gobierno griego ha declarado el estado de emergencia por unos 80 incendios forestales que se presentan a lo largo del Peloponeso, los cuales han cobrado la vida de al menos 41 personas, 9 de los cuales eran niños.

Las altas temperaturas y los fuertes vientos han favorecido el rápido aumento de las llamas. Algunas de las víctimas quedaron atrapadas en sus vehículos mientras huían de la población de Artemida, cerca de Zacharo. Otras tantas se encontraron en las zonas turísticas de Magna y Laconia.

Archivo:Picture156.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Fuego en Keratea visto desde Markopoulo Mesogaias.

El Primer Ministro Kostas Karamanlis ha dicho que este "es un día de duelo, de tragedia nacional", tras informar la gravedad de la situación por la cual solicitó la ayuda de la Unión Europea.

De acuerdo a una declaración de la UE, 30 países han ofrecido ayuda a Grecia.

Francia ha enviado dos aviones, los cuales se unen a una brigada conformada por unos 19 aviones, 18 helicópteros y unos 420 soldados del ejército que luchan contra las llamas en la región.

Alemania y Noruega prometieron enviar aviones con ayuda también.

Un bosque se incendia en Grecia

Los medios locales han criticado la lenta reacción de las autoridades para atender la emergencia, aunque los candidatos para las elecciones del próximo 16 de septiembre se han abstenido de dar declaraciones al respecto y decidieron suspender las campañas políticas que se están adelantando.

Desde junio, más de 3.000 incendios han causado estragos en miles de hectáreas de bosques del país – más de tres veces que el año pasado.

Aunque las elecciones presidenciales de Grecia serán el 16 de septiembre, se ha suspendido toda campaña política en respeto a las víctimas mientras que las banderas del gobierno estuvieron izadas a media asta el sábado.