Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) was a Greek writer, philosopher, and one of the most celebrated authors of the 20th century. Born in Heraklion, Crete, during Ottoman rule, he studied law at the University of Athens before pursuing philosophy in Paris under Henri Bergson. His dissertation explored Nietzsche’s philosophy of right and state.
Kazantzakis is best known for Zorba the Greek, inspired by his friendship with a worker named Georgios Zorbas. The novel became worldfamous after the 1964 film adaptation. His other major works include The Last Temptation of Christ, Christ Recrucified, and his epic poem The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, which he considered his greatest achievement.
He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, losing to Albert Camus in 1957 by a single vote. Camus later said Kazantzakis deserved the honor “a hundred times more” than himself. His epitaph, inscribed on his tomb overlooking the mountains and sea of Crete, reads: “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”