Fiction

List of works Fiction | Toda-Raba Plot This work condenses Kazantzakis’ impressions of the Soviet Union and his experiences there. The protagonist is a Negro named Toda Raba, which is the Hebrew for “Thank you”. He is flanked by seven further characters, each of whom is of different descent and cultural background: Sou-Ki, an aged …

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List of works Fiction | Simposion Plot A group of long-standing friends gathers together at a seaside cottage: Arpagos (‘the Plunderer’: Kazantzakis), Petros (Sikelianos), Kosmas (Ion Dragoumis), Myros (Myron Gounalakis or, according to Elli Alexiou, Michele Gounalakis, a long-standing friend of Kazantzakis from Switzerland). After dinner, they ask Arpagos to speak to them of his …

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List of works Fiction | Pinakothiki and Panathenia Description & information In the interval between completing Serpent and Lily and leaving for Paris, Kazantzakis published a series of literary texts in Pinakothiki and Panathenia magazines, which he signed under the pseudonym Karma Nirvami. Most of these are short and are termed “prose poems” or “prose …

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List of works Fiction | At the Palaces of Knossos Plot A children’s novel on Theseus’ struggle with the Minotaur, concluding with the end of the Minoan Empire. Writing history Probably written on Aegina in 1940, to earn much-needed income; Fanis I. Kakridis dates it to between 1914 and 1922. Greek editions N. Kazantzakis, Sta …

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List of works Fiction | Serpent and Lily Plot Having enjoyed what life has had to offer him, a pleasure and beauty-worshipping artist is gradually overcome by the idea of death. He decides that his death, just like his life, will be connected with carnal love and beauty. He therefore calls on his mistress and …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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