What do we finally know about the existence (or not) of Alexis Zorba?

An old acquaintance of N. Kazantzakis and second husband of Galatea's ex-wife, Markos Augeris, who knew Giorgis Zorbas and his family well, was asked to answer the question of whether Alexis Zorbas really existed.

The portrait of an iconic literary hero

We read about the existence (or not) of the famous hero - among other things - in the book "Live like Zorba".

"Nobody met Alexis Zorba. Alexis Zorbas is the literary hero in Kazantzakis' novel of the same name, he is a creature of his imagination and has almost nothing to do with the real life Zorbas, whom I once met as a friend of Kazantzakis, around 1920.

The Zorbas of life was a serious, dignified, self-respecting man. One understands who this real Zorbas was by looking at his photo. A well-groomed man, quiet and secure in himself, well-groomed, well-dressed, a man who shows that he cares about himself and that others respect him. He has nothing of the vagabond and furious that the Zorbas of art has."

Kazantzakis for Zorba

A few months before Nikos Kazantzakis passed away, in the spring of 1957, he received in Antibes, in the South of France, where he lived, a letter from Zorba's eldest son, the then lieutenant colonel Andrea, in which he strongly protested because he considered that his book he disparaged his father and insulted his family. Kazantzakis, with the honesty that characterized him, answered: "Rarely have I loved and honored a person like Zorba. I presented him in my writings as a superior free man and he is now glorious to thousands of people in Europe and America... I did this for the father and now the son complains".

The afterlife of Alexis Zorba

What we should probably keep in the end is the creator's deep faith in the person he so loved, honored and made famous throughout the world. It is true that the fictional Zorbas is an exaggeration, having almost nothing in common with a simple everyday person. His incessant euphoria, his childlike enthusiasm, his impetuosity and his irrational passion make him seem abnormal.

But it is these characteristics that turn him into an attractive personality, people-wise and rich in experiences, who has many useful things to teach the rest of normal people. With this perspective in mind, reading the novel is, in addition to another fine story, a transformative experience and an original life proposal.

Zorbas, the real one who reminds us of some distant grandfather and the fictional one who looks like the teacher we all would like to have, is a compass that is drawn to the essence of life, and thus shows us the limits of our journey.

Find the book about Alexis Zorba
entitled "Live like Zorba" by iWrite Publications