List of works Fiction | A portrait from Life the Empress Plot Orestes Asteriadis, a doctoral candidate in Paris, is preparing a learned treatise entitled New Testament, in which he pronounces a new religion. On 25th March he delivers a speech to his compatriots and fellow students at the tomb of Adamantios Korais, in which …
List of works Fiction | Gods pauper: St Francis of Assisi Plot A fictional biography of St. Francis of Assisi, narrated by Frate Leone, a humble beggar who wanders the Earth in search of God. On reaching Assisi he meets Francis, a rich young noble who is tormented by a similar quest. Francis believes that …
List of works Fiction | The Last Temptation of Christ Plot This is a narrative of the story of Jesus, focused on the final years of his life. Jesus is depicted as an ordinary carpenter, even making the crosses used by the Romans to execute Jewish revolutionaries. Having steadfastly refused to undertake the mission of …
List of works Fiction | Christ Recrucified Plot In Lycovrissi, a Greek village in Anatolia, custom has it that the Passion of Christ is re-enacted every seven years. Pope (Priest) Grigoris and the village nobles choose the people to take part: Christ is to be played by Manolios, a simple shepherd; John by Michelis, son …
List of works Friction | Freedom or Death Plot The plot is set in the Cretan uprising of 1889. The central character, a wild, insubordinate warrior named Kapetan (rebel leader) Michalis, has sworn to remain unshaven and dressed in black, and not to laugh until Crete has been freed. But when he meets Emine, wife …
List of works Fiction| The Fratricides Plot The story is set in Kastellos, a remote village in Macedonia, at the time of the Greek Civil War. The village is controlled by the army, but is being besieged by the guerrillas. Father Yiannaros, the village priest, stands between the two warring factions and tries to reconcile …
List of works Fiction | The Rock Garden Plot The narrator, a European soul living a life of egotism and hypocrisy, travels to China and Japan, where he comes into contact with Far Eastern civilisation and spirituality. While sailing to China he meets an emancipated Japanese woman named Joshiro, with whom he spends a night …
List of works Fiction| Alexander the Great Plot A historical novel for children, recounting Alexander’s life from the day he tamed Bucephalus up until his death on the banks of the Euphrates. Writing history Probably written on Aegina in 1940 to earn much-needed income, though Fanis I. Kakridis dates it to between 1914 and 1922. …
List of works Fiction | Vios ke Politia tou Alexi Zorba Plot This chronicles the friendship between Kazantzakis and Zorbas, and the lignite business they set up at Prastova in the Mani. In the novel, Yiorgis Zorbas is renamed Alexis Zorbas (“Zorba” in English translation), and the action is transferred to Crete. The two men …
List of works Fiction | Report to Greco Plot A kind of spiritual biography or, as Kazantzakis himself terms it, a “report” in the military sense of the word, regarding his goals and endeavours. The author begins his account in his childhood (having previously referred to his ancestors and parents) and ends on the day …