Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis (Greek Νίκος Καζαντζάκης February 18, 1883, Heraklion, Crete - October 26, 1957, Freiburg, Germany) was a Greek novelist, poet, playwriter and thinker. Arguably the most important Greek writer and philosopher of the 20th century, he acquired wide fame after Michael Cacoyannis made his novel Zorba the Greek (Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά) into a film in 1964. He is the most translated contemporary Greek author.

Literary work

His first work was the narrative Serpent and Lily (Όφις και Κρίνο), 1906, which he signed with the pen-name Karma Nirvami. After his studies in Paris, he authored the tragedy "The Master Builder" (Ο Πρωτομάστορας), based on a popular Greek folklore myth (1910).

Related Topics:
1906 - 1910

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His numerous trips all over the world inspired him to start the series "Travelling" (Ταξιδεύοντας), which became known as masterpieces of Greek travel literature. This series included Italy, Egypt, Sinai, Japan, China, England.

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Kazantzakis himself considered ' 1924-1938 to be his most important work. He wrote it seven times before publishing it in 1938. According to another important Greek author, Pantelis Prevelakis, "it has been a superhuman effort to record his immense spiritual experience". Following the structure of Homer's Odyssey, it is divided in 24 rhapsodies and consists of 33,333 verses.

Related Topics:
1924 - 1938 - Pantelis Prevelakis - Homer - Odyssey

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His best and most famous novels include Zorba the Greek (1946); The Greek Passion (1948), published in Great Britain as Christ Recrucified; Freedom or Death (1950) published in Great Britain as Freedom and Death; The Last Temptation of Christ (1951); and Saint Francis (1956), published in Great Britain as God's Pauper: St. Francis of Assisi. Report to Greco (1961) contains both autobiographical and fictional elements.

Related Topics:
1946 - 1948 - Great Britain - 1950 - The Last Temptation of Christ - 1951 - 1956 - 1961

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The spirit of Kazantzakis, even since his youth, was restless. He was tortured by metaphysical and existential concerns. He sought relief in knowledge, in travelling, in contact with other people, in every kind of experience. The influence of Friedrich Nietzsche on his work is evident, especially by his atheism and the presence of the superman (Übermensch) concept. However, religious concerns also haunted him.

Related Topics:
Friedrich Nietzsche - Superman

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The figure of Jesus is ever present in his thoughts, from his youth to his last years. But as presented in The Last Temptation of Christ it is a Christ tortured by the same metaphysical and existential concerns, seeking answers to haunting questions and often torn between his sense of duty and cause on one side and his own human needs to enjoy life, to love and to be loved, to have a family. A tragic figure who at the end sacrifices his own human hopes for a wider cause, Kazantzakis' Christ is not an infallible, passionless deity but rather a passionate and emotional human being who has been assigned a mission, with a meaning that he is struggling to understand and that often requires him to face his conscience and his emotions and ultimately to sacrifice his own life for its fulfilment. He is subject to doubts, fears and even guilt. In the end he is the Son of Man, a man whose internal struggle represents that of humanity.

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Many conservative religious figures in Greece tend to condemn his work. Religious oganisations banned the Last Temptation movie from Greek theatres.

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