His novels include Zorba The Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Fratricides, Freedom Or Death, The Greek Passion, Report to Greco, Toda Raba, Saint Francis, Alexander The Great, The Rock Garden and what is perhaps his masterpiece The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, which is written in verse form. (333,333 verses to be exact). He also wrote several travel books like Journey to the Morea, Japan and China and Journeying: Travels in Italy, Egypt, Sinai, Jerusalem and Cyprus. Other works include a novella called Serpent and Lily, a book on his philosophy: Symposium and another called Saviors of God.
According to Colin Wilson in his book
The Strength to Dream..."Nikos Kazantzakis work can stand
with the nineteenth century giants, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Nitzsche...
the religious philosopher crucified on the cross of metaphysics."
Albert
Schweitzer, Thomas Mann and Albert Camus hailed him as one of the greatest European
writers.
He died in 1957. On his tomb in Iraklion, Crete are these engraved words:
I
hope for nothing
I fear nothing
I am free
For those who want to come closer to the spirit of Greece they only need to read Nikos Kazantzakis