Nikos Kazantzakis
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Nikos Kazantzakis (Greek Νίκος Καζαντζάκης February 18, 1883, Heraklion, Crete, Greece - October 26, 1957, Freiburg, Germany) was a Greek novelist, poet, playwright and thinker. Arguably the most important Greek prose 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.
Biography
Kazantzakis was born in Heraklion, Crete, in 1883, at that time a small town still under Turkish rule, but under intense revolutionary fever, following the continuous uprisings of the Greek population to achieve independence from the Ottoman empire and to unite with Greece.In 1902 he moved to Athens, Greece where he studied Law at the Athens University and then in 1907 to Paris to study Philosophy. There he studied under and was influenced by the teachings of Henri Bergson.
Back in Greece, he started translating works of philosophy and in 1914 he got acquainted with Angelos Sikelianos. Together they travelled for two years in places where Greek Christian culture flourished, largely influenced by the enthusiastic nationalism of Sikelianos.
In 1919, as Director General of the Ministry of Social Relief, he transferred pontic Greek populations from the Caucasus region to Greece in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. For Kazantzakis, this was the beginning of an odyssey across the world. Until his death in 1957, he sojourned in Paris and Berlin (from 1922 to 1924), Italy, Russia (in 1925), Spain (in 1932), and then Cyprus, Aegina, Egypt, Mount Sinai, Czechoslovakia, Nice (where he later bought a seaside villa, near Antibes), China, and Japan.
During his stay in Berlin, where a critical and explosive situation ruled, Kazantzakis was introduced to communism and became an admirer of Lenin, but he never became a consistent communist. Yet, since that time, his nationalistic beliefs were replaced by a more universal ideology.
Kazantzakis lost the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature to Albert Camus by one vote. Camus claimed that Kazantzakis deserved the honour "a hundred times more" than himself.
In 1957 he started a new trip to China and Japan. This, however, was his last. Suffering from leukemia, Kazantzakis fell ill and was transferred to Freiburg, Germany, where he died. He was buried at Heraklion, in particular on the wall surrounding the city since his burial in a cemetery was ruled out by the orthodox church. His epitaph read "I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free." (Δεν ελπίζω τίποτε. Δεν φοβάμαι τίποτε. Είμαι λεύτερος.)
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).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.
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.
His best and most famous novels include Zorba the Greek (1946); The Greek Passion (1948), published in Great Britain as Christ Recrucified; Captain Michalis (1950) published in Great Britain as Freedom and Death; The Last Temptation (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. In Report to Greco, Kazantzakis summed up his philosophy as the "Cretan Glance."
Since his youth, Kazantzakis was spiritually restless. Tortured by metaphysical and existential concerns, he sought relief in knowledge, in travelling, in contact with a diverse set of 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. To attain a union with God, Kazantzakis entered a monastary for a brief stay of six months.
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.
Many conservative religious figures in Greece tend to condemn his work. "You gave me a curse, I give you a blessing: may your conscience be as clear as mine and may you be as moral and religious as I" (greek "Μου δώσατε μια κατάρα, Άγιοι πατέρες, σας δίνω κι εγώ μια ευχή: Σας εύχομαι να ‘ναι η συνείδηση σας τόσο καθαρή, όσο είναι η δική μου και να ‘στε τόσο ηθικοί και θρήσκοι όσο είμαι εγώ"). The Last Temptation was included in Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Kazantzakis reacted to that, by sending a telegram to the Vatican containing the phrase of christian writer Tertullian: Ad tuum, Domine, tribunal appello. The movie based on the novel, was also banned from some Greek theatres.
Quotes
Epitaph on the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis in Heraklion:
- Δεν ελπίζω τίποτα. Δε φοβάμαι τίποτα. Είμαι λεύτερος
- I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.
Bibliography
Bibliography in English
Translations of The Odyssey
- The Odyssey [Selections from], partial translation in prose by Kimon Friar, Wake 12 (1953), pp. 58-65
- The Return of Odysseus, partial translation by Kimon Friar, "The Atlantic Monthly" 195, No. 6 (June 1955), pp. 110-112
- The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, translation in verses by Kimon Friar, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958; London: Secker and Warburg, 1958
- Death, the Ant, from The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, Book XV, 829-63, translated by Kimon Friar, "The Charioteer", No. 1 (Summer 1960), p. 39
- From Odysseus, A Drama, partial translation by M. Byron Raizis, "The Literary Review" 16, No. 3 (Spring 1973), p. 352
- Spain, translated by Amy Mims, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963
- Japan, China, translated by George C. Pappageotes, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963; published in the United Kingdom as Travels in China & Japan, Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1964; London: Faber and Faber, 1964
- England, translated by Amy Mims, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965; Oxford, Bruno Cassirer, 1971
- Journey to Morea, translated by F. A. Reed, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965; published in the United Kingdom as Travels in Greece, Journey to Morea, Oxford, Bruno Cassirer, 1966
- Journeying: Travels in Italy, Egypt, Sinai, Jerusalem and Cyprus, translated by Themi Vasils and Theodora Vasils, Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1975; San Francisco: Creative Arts Books Co. (Donald S. Ellis, Publisher), 1984
- Zorba the greek, translated by Carl Wildman, London, John Lehmann, 1952; New York, Simon and Schuster, 1953; Oxford, Bruno Cassirer, 1959; London & Boston: Faber and Faber, 1961 and New York: Ballantine Books, 1964
- The greek passion, translated by Jonathan Griffin, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1954; New York, Ballantine Books, 1965; published in the United Kingdom as Christ recrucified, Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1954; London: Faber and Faber, 1954
- Freedom or Death, translated by Jonathan Griffin, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1954; New York: Ballantine, 1965; published in the United Kingdom as Freedom and Death, Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1956; London: Faber and Faber, 1956
- The Last Temptation, translated by Peter A. Bien, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1960; New York, Bantam Books, 1961; Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1961; London: Faber and Faber, 1975
- Saint Francis, translated by Peter A. Bien, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962; published in the United Kingdom as God's Pauper: Saint Francis of Assisi, Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1962, 1975; London: Faber and Faber, 1975
- The Fratricides, translated by Athena Gianakas Dallas, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1964
- Alexander the Great. A Novel, translated by Theodora Vasils, Athens (Ohio): Ohio University Press, 1982
- At the Palaces of Knossos. A Novel, translated by Themi and Theodora Vasilis, edited by Theodora Vasilis, London: Owen, 1988 [Adapted from the draft typewritten manuscript]
- Father Yanaros, from the novel The Fratricides, translated by Theodore Sampson, in Modern Greek Short Stories, Vol. 1, edited by Kyr. Delopoulos, Athens: Kathimerini Publications, 1980
- Christopher Columbus, translated by Athena Gianakas-Dallas, Kentfield (CA): Allen Press, 1972 [edition limited to 140 copies]
- Sodom and Gomorrah, A Play, translated by Kimon Friar, "The Literary Review" 19, No. 2 (Winter 1976), pp. 122-256 (62)
- Buddha, translated by Kimon Friar and Athena Dallas-Damis, San Diego (CA): Avant Books, 1983
- Three plays, translated by Athena Gianakas-Dallas, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1969
- Two plays: Sodom and Gomorrah and Comedy: A Tragedy in One Act, translated by Kimon Friar, Minneapolis: North Central Publishing Co., 1982
- Comedy: A Tragedy in One Act, translated by Kimon Friar, "The Literary Review" 18, No. 4 (Summer 1975), pp. 417-454
- Report to Greco, translated by Peter A. Bien, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965; Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1965; London: Faber and Faber, 1965; New York: Bantan Books, 1971
- Symposium, translated by Theodora Vasils e Themi Vasils, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1974; New York: Minerva Press, 1974
- The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises, translated by Kimon Friar, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960
- The Rock Garden (excerpts from The Saviors of God), translated from the french version by Richard Howard, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963
- From The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises, translated by Kimon Friar, "The Charioteer", No. 1 (Summer 1960), pp. 40-51; reprinted in "The Charioteer" 22 and 23 (1980/1981), pp. 116-129
- Serpent and Lily, translated by Theodora Vasils, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980 [original title Όφις και Κρίνο]
- Toda Raba, translated by Amy Mims, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964
- The Suffering God: Selected Letters to Galatea and to Papastephanou, translated by Philip Ramp and Katerina Anghelaki Rooke, New Rochelle (NY): Caratzas Brothers, 1979
- The Angels of Cyprus, translated by Amy Mims, in Cyprus ‘74: Aphrodite’s Other Face, edited by Emmanuel C. Casdaglis, Athens: National Bank of Greece, 1976
- Burn Me to Ashes: An Excerpt, translated by Kimon Friar, "Greek Heritage" 1, No. 2 (Spring 1964), pp. 61-64
- Christ (poetry), translated by Kimon Friar, "Journal of Hellenic Diaspora" (JHD) 10, No. 4 (Winter 1983), pp. 47-51 (60)
- Drama and Contemporary Man, An Essay, translated by Peter Bien, "The Literary Review" 19, No. 2 (Winter 1976), pp. 15-121 .
- He Wants to Be Free-Kill Him!. A Story, translated by Athena G. Dallas, "Greek Heritage" 1, No. 1 (Winter 1963), pp. 78-82.
- The Homeric G.B.S., "The Shaw Review" 18, No. 3 (Sept. 1975), pp. 91-92 [originally written for a 1946 Greek radio broadcast by BBC Overseas Service in occasion of the 90th birthday of G.B. Shaw]
- Hymn (Allegorical), translated by M. Byron Raizis, "Spirit" 37, No. 3 (Fall 1970), pp. 16-17
- Two Dreams, translated by Peter Mackridge, "Omphalos" 1, No. 2 (Summer 1972), p. 3.
- A Tiny Anthology of Kazantzakis. Remarks on the Drama, 1910-1957, compiled by Peter Bien, "The Literary Review" 18, No. 4 (Summer 1975), pp. 455-459
On Kazantzakis
- Pandelis Prevelakis, Nikos Kazantzakis and His Odyssey. A Study of the Poet and the Poem, translated from the Greek by Philip Sherrard, with a prefaction by Kimon Friar, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961.
- Peter Bien, Nikos Kazantzakis, 1962; New York: Columbia University Press, 1972.
- Peter Bien, Nikos Kazantzakis and the Linguistic Revolution in Greek Literature, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972.
- Peter Bien, Tempted by happiness. Kazantzakis’ post-Christian Christ Wallingford, Pa.: Pendle Hill Publications, 1984.
- Peter Bien, Kazantzakis. Politics of the Spirit, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989.
- Peter Bien and Darren J. N. Middleton ed., God’s struggler. Religion in the Writings of Nikos Kazantzakis, Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1996.
- Helen Kazantzakis, Nikos Kazantzakis. A biography based on his letters, translated by Amy Mims, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968; Berkeley: Creative Arts Book Co. for Donald S. Ellis, 1983.
- John (Giannes) Anapliotes, The real Zorbas and Nikos Kazantzakis, translated by Lewis A. Richards, Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1978.
- James F. Lea, Kazantzakis: The Politics of Salvation, foreward by Helen Kazantzakis, The University of Alabama Press, 1979.
- Kimon Friar, The spiritual odyssey of Nikos Kazantzakis. A talk, edited and with an introduction by Theofanis G. Stavrou, St. Paul, Minn.: North Central Pub. Co., 1979.
- Morton P. Levitt, The Cretan Glance, The World and Art of Nikos Kazantzakis, Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1980.
- Daniel A. Dombrowski, Kazantzakis and God, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.
- Colin Wilson and Howard F. Dossor, Nikos Kazantzakis, Nottingham: Paupers, 1999.
- Lewis Owen, Creative Destruction: Nikos Kazantzakis and the Literature of Responsibility, Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2003.
External links
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