The Real Zorba the Greek

"Zorba taught me to love life and have no fear of death", Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco, translated by Peter A.Bien, 1965.

"In 1917, there was Zorba- Zorba and the famous lignite mine, whose actual location was not in Crete at all but the southern part of the Peloponnesus, in Mani, near a stunning bay with fine sand and fresh-water springs spurting in the sea and along a beach...When the mine collapsed, Zorba and Kazantzakis abandoned it".

Nikos Kazantzakis, A Biography Based on His Letters, by Helen Kazantzakis, translated by Amy Mims, 1968.

The mine was at Prastova, four miles from Kardamyli.

"As for us, boss...we have other aims, great ones".

"What are they Zorba?" I asked him.

"It seems we're digging to see what devils we have inside us".

Kazantzakis, Report to Greco.

See also my blog posting, Cacoyannis in Conversation, about the film of Zorba the Greek

Does thie dialogue in this scene sound chauvinistic nowadays (or just downright sexist)?

Further reading:

An article from The Mail Online

Mani Developments

Big Fat Greek Blog

Wikipedia