Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer who wrote novels such as Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. He drew inspiration from Nietzsche and Buddhism, and his work was admired by Beat writers and flower children. Kazantzakis also pursued a successful career in public service and was a friend of Lenin for a time. He narrowly missed winning the Nobel Prize in 1954. His wife’s gravestone is marked with “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”
Nikos Kazantzakis was a playwright and novelist who was born in Crete in 1885. He lived to see both World Wars unfold in his beloved Europe, and his writing became his model for philosophy. He called his writing his “battleground” for political change.
Kazantzakis is best known to English-speaking readers for his novels, Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. In fact, the latter’s release was long ignored until Martin Scorsese made a film version of it in 1988. The film unleashed a firestorm of criticism over its depiction of Jesus as a fairly ordinary man, caught in a fight existential of faith and rejection. Also, more than alluding to a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The film was banned in most Greek theaters and the Roman papacy condemned it.
The film’s condemnation likely resulted in higher-than-expected box office receipts. It further piqued interest in the writer, and the book had higher sales than any of Kazantzakis’ other novels. The struggle of Christ is the struggle of Kazantzakis, who drew much inspiration from the existentialist philosopher Nietzsche and Buddhist philosophy. Though he calls himself an atheist, Kazantzakis continually explored the idea of Christ, even spending time in a monastery trying to understand man’s relationship to God.
Kazantzakis was also a friend of Soviet dictator Lenin for a time. Although the writer embraced much of the ideology of communism, he could not reconcile it with his personal philosophy of religion. His books can be seen as an attempt to come up with a new theory, embracing socialism, while also adding elements of Buddhism and Christianity.
In particular, Kazantzakis’ Buddhist thinking led him to be admired by Beat writers and flower children of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He wanted a life free from materialism and free from a social structure that would dictate morality. He advocated for personal freedom so that people could figure out their own paths.
Kazantzakis wrote while also pursuing a successful career in public service. He was born to peasants, but his precocious inclination towards education prompted him to move away from the farm to devote himself to serious studies. He holds the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree from the University of Athens and also studied law for four years. However, he had no desire to practice law.
In the first decade of the 20th century, Kazantzakis traveled to Paris to study philosophy at the Collège de France. After his studies, he traveled to Russia, China, Spain and England. Upon his return she began a career in social welfare and in 1920 he became director of the Greek Ministry of Public Welfare. He later served for UNESCO and became a minister for the Greek government after World War II.
Kazantzakis published his first novel, Serpent and Lily in 1906. His other most notable works are a verse sequel to The Odyssey published in 1938 and translated in the 1950s, Zorba the Greek published in 1946 with English translation in 1952, and Man of God published in 1953, with an English translation in 1962 as the novel St. Francis. He also translated many classical works into Greek.
Reading Kazantzakis is a challenge, even for those with a literary or philosophical background. His Odyssey is particularly difficult. Most find Zorba and St. Francis to be his most accessible works of art. Zorba in particular is clearly a study in Kazantzakis’ approach to life. The book was made into a popular film in the 1960s, starring Anthony Quinn in the title role.
Kazantzakis narrowly missed winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Camus. Camus is said to have remarked that Kazantzakis deserved the award much more than he did. Kazantzaki’s wife writes in her biography of her husband that she always traveled with a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy, and that he was at her bedside when she died in 1957. Her gravestone is marked with the following: “I hope for nothing . I fear nothing. I am free.”
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