Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Ken Hada (East Central University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.7.1.02: Greek Writing and Culture: Modern and Contemporary, 1453-present.
Vol. editors: Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1946

Places

Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Zorba the Greek

, originally titled

The Saint’s Life of Alexis Zorba

, by Nikos Kazantzakis, is the story of a charismatic, unabashed character (Zorba) whose experiences with the participant- narrator unleash a dialogized commentary concerning major questions of human existence. Establishing a Dionysian – Apollonian contrast within and around his two main characters, Kazantzakis explores various tensions (acts and consequences) provided within this primary contrasting frame, including: fate/freedom, orthodoxy/heterodoxy, antiquity/modernity, body/soul, individual/institutional, reason/intuition, and detachment/action.

Set in Crete, the novel is based on Kazantzakis’s real-life experience with Alexis Zorba. Kazantzakis sees their relationship in spiritual terms, referring to him as

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3168 words

Citation: Hada, Ken. "Zorba the Greek". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 January 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23221, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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