Nikos Kazantzakis
Overview
 
Nikos Kazantzakis (February 18, 1883 October 26, 1957) was a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 writer and philosopher, celebrated for his novel Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn...

, considered his magnum opus. He became known globally after the 1964 release of the Michael Cacoyannis film Zorba the Greek, based on the novel.
When Kazantzakis was born in 1883 in Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....

, Crete had not yet joined the modern Greek state
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, (which had been established in 1830) and was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

.
Quotations

I am a mariner of Odysseus with heart of fire but with mind ruthless and clear.

Toda Raba (1934)

There is only one woman in the world. One woman, with many faces.

The Last Temptation of Christ|The Last Temptation of Christ (1951)

The doors of heaven and hell are adjacent and identical.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1951), ch. 18

There's a devil inside me which cries, "You're not the son of the Carpenter, you're the son of King David! You are not a man, you are the Son of man whom Daniel prophesied." And still more: "The Son of God! And still more: God!"

The Last Temptation of Christ (1951)

God, what is all this talk put out by the popes? Paradise is here, my good man. God, give me no other paradise!

Freedom and Death (1956)

We, who are dying, are doing better, than they, who will live. For Crete doesn't need householders, she needs madmen like us. These madmen make Crete immortal.

Freedom and Death (1956)

I said to the almond tree: "Speak to me of God."and the almond tree blossomed.

The Fratricides (1964)

Every perfect traveller always creates the country where he travels.

As quoted in Reporter in Red China (1966) by Charles Taylor

 
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