Ancient sites saved as blazes battled

The temples and stadiums of ancient Olympia have been saved by Greek firefighters battling forest fires which have killed 60 lives.Dozens of blazes, from northern Greece to the tip of the Peloponnese peninsula in the south, have raced through towns and villages, causing unprecedented destruction.Towering walls of flame have torn through the southern region and the island of Evia near the capital, prompting Greece to declare a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday.Athens has been covered in thick white ash that swirled round the temples on the Acropolis while the smell of smoke permeates the city.Meanwhile, thousands of people have fled the fires which have burned down hundreds of homes.Many local mayors have accused rogue land developers of setting fires to make way for new construction on virgin forest and farm land.So far, police have arrested two elderly people and two boys on suspicion of starting fires deliberately.In Peloponnese, fire scorched the yard of the museum at Olympia, housing famous classical sculptures such as Praxiteles' Hermes but it was beaten back by planes, helicopters and scores of firefighters.Ancient Olympia, which hosted the Olympics for centuries from 776 BC, holds an Olympic flame ceremony every two years and is among the most popular tourist sites in the country.The first fires broke out on Friday and others erupted in scores of places around the country.The death toll rose to 60 and health officials said it could increase as many villages remain cut off.The Greek government has offered rewards of up to a million euros ($1.36 million) for help in tracking down arsonists who are believed to have help spread the blazes.Volunteer firefighter Nicholas Orphanos said: The destruction is of biblical proportions. There are villages we want to go to and we cannot because the roads are blocked."In 30 years, I have never seen such destruction."© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | August 27, 2007

Tags:. .walls. .tracking. .round. .land. .hundreds