Kazantzakis, Nikos, << `kaz` uhn ZAK ihs, NEE kows >> (1883-1957), was a Greek author. He began his literary career writing tragedies, after which he turned to poetry. Kazantzakis first stated his philosophical themes in the essay The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises (1927). In 1938, he published what he believed was his masterpiece, The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, an epic poem of 33,333 lines. The poem is based on the ancient Greek epic poem, the Odyssey. Later in his career, Kazantzakis turned to prose fiction and wrote several novels. The three for which he is best known are Zorba the Greek (1946), The Greek Passion (1954), and The Last Temptation of Christ (1955). His autobiography, Report to Greco, was published in 1961, after his death on Oct. 26, 1957.
Kazantzakis was born on Dec. 2,1883, in Iraklion, Crete. He traveled widely from about 1920 to 1940 and wrote several travel books. Kazantzakis was strongly influenced by the French philosopher Henri Bergson, and the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose works he translated.
