Authorities ordered at least five more communities and two hospitals northeast of Athens to leave after eight nearby villages, including Marathon, were told to evacuate on Sunday.
Marathon's mayor said the town, which gave it name to the long-distance race that is the centrepiece of the Olympics, was facing a "catastrophe".
A 30-kilometre (20-mile) long wall of flames, more than 25 metres (80 feet) high, was moving towards Athens, the ERT public broadcaster reported.
Eight people have been hospitalised with respiratory problems and authorities opened the Olympic stadium in northern Athens to house those fleeing.
"Civil protection forces battled hard throughout the night, but despite superhuman efforts, the fire evolved rapidly," fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.
"At this moment it has reached Mount Pentelicus and is headed in the direction of Penteli," he added.
A children's hospital and a military medical facility in Penteli were evacuated at dawn, Vathrakogiannis said.
The summer wildfire season in Greece this year has seen daily blazes after the Mediterranean country recorded its warmest winter and the hottest June and July since reliable data collection began in 1960.
Temperatures around Athens are forecast to peak at 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, with wind gusts of up to 50 kilometres (31 miles) per hour.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his holiday and returned to Athens on Sunday because of the crisis.
More than 670 firefighters with 183 vehicles and 32 aircraft were battling the blaze, the spokesman said.
- 'Fire near you' -
"Forest fire near you. Follow the instructions of the authorities," said SMS messages sent to people in the Attica region, indicating in which direction to flee.
Marathon's 7,000 residents were told to head for the coastal town of Neak Makri.
"We are facing a biblical catastrophe," said Marathon's mayor, Stergios Tsirkas. "Our whole town is engulfed in flames and going through difficult times," he told the Skai television channel.
Firefighters on Sunday battled to put out 33 of the 40 blazes that had broken out in the past 24 hours.
But the force was battling seven more in the high summer heat, the fire brigade spokesman said Sunday.
"Everything is burning," said Giorgos Tsevas, a farmer in Polydendri village which was engulfed on Sunday.
"I have 200 olive trees there but now they are gone," the 48-year-old said.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias had warned Saturday that half the country was under a high-risk warning for fires due to high temperatures, wind gusts and drought conditions.
"Throughout the night, winds remained strong, creating dangerous situations. Unfortunately their intensity is expected to increase in the coming hours," Vathrakogiannis warned.
Scientists warn that human-induced fossil fuel emissions are worsening the length, frequency and intensity of heatwaves across the world.
The rising temperatures are leading to longer wildfire seasons and increasing the area burnt in the flames, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Homeless struggling to survive Greece's cruel heat
Athens (AFP) Aug 12, 2024 -
Sweating under the brutal Athens sun on a hot August afternoon, Emil Kamenov tugged the armpit of his T-shirt and said, "Smell this."
Particularly exposed as a street person, the 64-year-old was hiding in the shade.
With temperatures rising every year, the Greek capital's homeless do what they can to beat the heat, with help from passersby, charities and the city.
"This year was very bad. Hot days -- dizzy," said Bulgarian-born Kamenov, who became homeless during the long Greek economic crisis that began in 2009.
"When the weather is really bad, I try the trees. But my spot is here," he said from a bench with a view of his makeshift bed in a nook in the wall.
Greece set several climate milestones this year: its warmest winter, earliest heatwave and warmest June and July on record.
The mercury rose to 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) in June, while some areas suffered 40-plus temperatures for more than a week last month.
- Concrete jungle -
One of Europe's hottest capitals, Athens is a densely-populated concrete jungle lacking in green space, making it ill-prepared for heatwaves.
The extreme weather is especially hard on the homeless.
"Because they live on the street, they are the most vulnerable," said Myriam Karela, 57, a long-time volunteer social worker with the Hellenic Red Cross.
Climate change only compounds the problem. Scientists say it makes extreme weather events including heatwaves more likely, longer lasting and more intense.
"It's getting worse. I see it every year," said Michalis Samolis, a 67-year-old resident of a municipal homeless shelter in Athens.
"I'm outside 10 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So I see the difference clearly," he told AFP.
Samolis stood at a busy metro exit holding the popular Shedia street newspaper sold by the poor and homeless.
"The train stations don't have a cover. So you're outside in the sun... You can stay there under the tree, but nobody will see you," he said.
"Besides wearing a hat and cold drinks, I have my dark glasses. And I'm trying very hard," added the former lorry driver who trained as an aircraft engineer.
"Because I have to work. I work to survive."
- Less change in their paper cups -
The number of homeless in the city of more than three million is unknown, but it has swelled since the financial crisis.
Pantelis Spanos, 50, sat under the direct sun at a bustling crossroad, with a cardboard sign and a paper cup for change.
It was 36 degrees Celsius -- "quite reasonable", said the rough sleeper and former heroin user.
Spanos wore a bucket hat, dirty jeans and an Adidas tracksuit top.
"Believe it or not this protects. If I wear short sleeves, I sweat, and then the wind comes and you get cold," he told AFP.
"Everything is studied to the last detail."
Five minutes earlier someone had brought him water, Spanos said.
To his left was a neglected area of dilapidated buildings, drug addicts and shops run by immigrants.
Yet tourists enjoying cocktails and taking snapshots of the ancient ruins were just a stone's throw away.
Beyond the heat, August is hard for Spanos because Athenians go on holiday so fewer euros get dropped into his cup.
- Air-conditioned spaces -
Homeless people looking for respite can access seven air-conditioned spaces made available by the city.
"In hot weather, the so-called Friendship Clubs... remain open until late in the afternoon and on weekends," said Jeannie Yennimata, head of the Kyada municipal social support agency.
But persuading them to go is another matter.
"They don't want to lose their post where they keep their things... Someone else will take it," said Karela, the Red Cross volunteer.
She estimated that only a third of street people visit the rooms.
Earlier this month, the Red Cross distributed packages with necessities -- including hats and ice cold water -- to 150 homeless people.
The team also provided advice, first aid and psychosocial support.
While they hit the streets year-round to help, the climate crisis has turned their schedule on its head.
"For many years we were going out during the winter mainly... Now it's more and more during summer," Karela said.
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