1950. January-May. He devotes himself in the writing of Kapetan Michalis. He completes the 1st writing on May 4, and after a brief respite, he engages himself with the 2nd writing. He works on this until the end of July.
September 5-22. Nikos and Eleni Κ. tour Spain with their friends, Jean-Pierre and Yvonne Métral and Lucienne Fleury: Antibes – Narbonne – Perpignan – Barcelona – Tarragona – Valencia – Alicante – Cordova –Toledo – Ilieskas – Madrid – Vitoria – San Sebastian – Bayonne – Antibes.
November. Theseas, translated in Swedish, is broadcasted on the radio in Stockholm. Christ Recrucified,¹ translated by Börje Knös, is published in Stockholm by Ljus Förlag.²
K. begins to write The Last Temptation of Christ.³

1951. January-July 5. He writes and completes The Last Temptation. On June 19, he loses his old friend and companion, Angelos Sikelianos.
On August 3, Nikos and Eleni Κ. arrive in Florence and settle in Villa Fabbricotti, 64, via V. Emmanuele. Κ. revisits Konstantinos Palaiologos.
He visits Sienna, Venice and Pisa with his wife; mid-September they return to Antibes. Κ. revisits The Last Temptation, correcting it. It has assumed its final form by the end of October.
Saviors of God,⁴ translated in French by Octave Merlier⁵, is published by the French Institute of Athens.
St. Francis of Assisi by Johannes Jœrgensen is published in Athens, translated and prefaced by K.
Zorba is published in Portuguese in S. Paulo, Brazil.
Christ Recrucified,⁶ translated in Norwegian by Aksel Akselson, is published in Oslo (publ. Tanum), and in Berlin, translated in German by Werner Kebs (under the title: Griechische Passion⁷), it is published by Herbig-Verlag⁸.

1952. K.’s novels enjoy much success in many countries. The author is occupied with the supervision of the translations and the exchange of correspondence with the publishers. His wife assists him with outstanding skill. Fatigued by the volume of work, and with increasingly failing health, he travels alone to Lofer, an Austrian mountain near Salzburg, for repose. He also suffers from herpes labialis,⁹ which has occasionally bothered him in the past. He spends his summer with his wife in Italy. They visit Ravenna, Rimini, Assisi, Arezzo, Sienna. (Κ. relives the legend of God’s Pauper in the place which gave birth to him and before the frescoes which depict his works.) They return to Antibes only to depart once again, mid-November, to Holland. Utrecht, Amsterdam. Κ. suffers from a serious infection in his right eye. He also contracts the flu and he is hospitalized in Amsterdam, studying God’s Pauper all the while.
Zorba, translated in German by Al. Steinmetz, is published by Otto Erich Kleine, in Braunschweig. Simultaneously, the English translation by Carl Wildman is published by John Lehmann in London.
Christ Recrucified, translated in Dutch by André Noorbeek, is published by Fontein Publishing House in Utrecht; in Danish, translated by Axel Pille and published in Copenhagen by Jespersen og Pios; in Finnish, in Helsinki.¹⁰
The Last Temptation, translated in Swedish by Börje Knös, is published by Hugo Gehers in Stockholm; it is translated in Norwegian by Aksel Akselson, published by Tanum Publ. House in Oslo.*

* I record the first translators and publishers who helped in the dissemination of the novels of K. The reader may have noticed that Greek publishers are absent.

1953. Beginning of the year, Κ. is hospitalized for one month and a half in Bichat Hospital in Paris gravely ill, still suffering of his ocular ailment. The Greek doctor Sterianos stands by him. During his stay in the Parisian hospital, the serious lymphatic abnormality which has afflicted him for years is diagnosed.

Towards the end of February, Κ. returns to Antibes, but he is soon forced to return to Paris to have his worsening eye condition treated. After a brief stay in April at a clinic, he is accommodated in L’Hay-les-Roses (Seine) by his friends Métral, still suffering from his afflicted right eye, which he finally lost and by a painful abscess in his thigh, (after he is subjected to an injection of milk). During his stay at the clinic, near death, he dictated to his wife the “hai-kai”¹¹ (this is how he referred to them) found in God’s Pauper.¹²
He returns to Antibes. There he receives Prevelakis for a few days (end of July) who has rushed to see him. Despite the ordeal of his affliction, his morale is high and the creative fever unappeasable. After a while, he receives I. Th. Kakridis as his house-guest for about a month; they revisit the entire translation of Homer’s Iliad giving it its final form. By the end of August their collaborative work is completed.
K. returns immediately to original creation: “I am working well, Francis advances.” (Letter to P. Oct. 10) “In the past two weeks, I have completed Saint Francis.” (Letter, Dec. 6) The Church of Greece demands the persecution of K. for some pages of Kapetan Michalis and the entire conception of The Last Temptation, even though this book has not been published in Greek. (This turmoil carries on for another year.) Many representatives of public opinion take K’s side.*
The 1st edition of Kapetan Michalis is published in Athens by publisher Mavrides. Nea Estia publishes Konstantinos Palaiologos.
Saviors of God¹³, translated by Karl August Horst in German, is published by Donau-Verlag¹⁴ in Vienna-Munich, with a biographical note by Max Tau.
Translations of Zorba are published in Zurich (German translation), in New York (translated by Carl Wildman, published by Simon and Schuster), in Oslo (translated by Aksel Akselson, published by Tanum).
The translated Christ Recrucified is published in Berlin and in New York (translated by Jonathan Griffin, published by Simon and Schuster).
Melissa and Theseas are published in one volume by Éditions du Rocher, Monaco, translated by K. himself, reviewed by Charles Guillemeau.**

* I would like to briefly note that, in 1954, I published a tragedy, entitled Lazarus, inspired by this turmoil. No one noticed its significance.

** The complete series of foreign editions is only found in K.’s home in Antibes it is intended for the Historical Museum of Crete in Heraklion, which already possesses several volumes. A significant number of these foreign editions was also sent by K. to two friends of his in Athens, doctor Sbarounis and Prevelakis. No public library indicated an interest in acquiring the tokens of this unique brilliance of Modern Greece.

1954. February. A theatrical adaptation of Christ Recrucified is taught from the stage in Oslo.
April. The Pope inscribes The Last Temptation in the Index. Κ. sends a telegram with a phrase by Tertullian to the Index Committee of the Vatican: “Ad tuum, Domine, tribunal appello”. In a handwritten note, K. adds: “The same phrase I put forth to the Orthodox Church: To your Tribunal, Lord, I make my appeal. For our own Metropolitans and Archbishops, I add this: You have given me a curse, Holy Fathers, I give you a wish: I wish your conscience is as clear as mine, and that you will be as moral and religious as I am. Ν.Κ.”
June. The couple moves from Villa Manolita to their own little home in 8, rue du Bas-Castelet 8, Antibes. The Athenian newspaper Eleftheria¹⁵ begins to publish (from June 6) K.’s novel God’s Pauper¹⁶. From the end of June onward, K. begins his daily collaboration with Kimon Friar for the English translation of his Odyssey: “We estimate that in six months the first writing will be complete.” (Letter of K. to P.)

July. Zorba receives in Paris the “Prize for best foreign book published in France” in 1954.
End of August-end of September. K. is in Sauze (Mt., 1400 m.), with his wife, always collaborating with Friar.
October. Upon his return to Antibes, he undertakes The Fratricides¹⁷.
December 1. K.’s tragedy Sodom and Gomorrah is performed by the National Τheater in Mannheim in Germany. The author and his wife attend the premiere. Then they go to Freiburg-im-Breisgau. Κ. is admitted to the University Clinic (Professor Heilmeyer) for observation and treatment: they find he suffers from “non malignant lymphoid leukemia”.
The publication of K.’s Collected Works is undertaken by the newly established publishing house “Difros”. Emmanuel H. Kasdaglis is assigned the typography and editing and Giorgis Varlamos the artistic editing of the books. The first to be published in these arrangements are Christ Recrucified¹⁸ and N.K.’s translation of Divine Comedy¹⁹ (in three volumes, 1954-55).
Zorba is re-published in Athens by D. Demetrakos (the text is authorized by the author). In Paris, also re-published, as part of the collection “Feux Croisés” of Plon Editions, is Yvonne Gauthier’s translation: it has been reworked by Gisèle Prassinos and Pierre Fridas. Translations of the same novel are published in Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Jerusalem.
Christ Recrucified is published in Oxford and Buenos Aires. God’s Pauper in Oslo.
Professor W. B. Stanford offers a wide and thorough analysis of K.’s Odyssey in his book The Ulysses Theme (publ. Blackwell, Oxford).

1955. K. returns rejuvenated from Freiburg to Antibes and throws himself back to work. A “person of high statute”²⁰ visits him on April 24 and assures him that any last notion for his persecution has been discarded by the Greek Government.
End of June he leaves with his wife for Italy (where they stay for a week), and from there they go to Switzerland for a month: Kurhaus Cademario, Lugano. During his stay in that mountain retreat, K. begins to write his Report to Greco²¹, his spiritual autobiography. After Lugano, the couple goes to Zurich, and from there to Alsace, where Albert Schweitzer awaits them. The meeting takes place in Gunsbach on August 11. At the end of the same month, Κ. is in Antibes, working on the screenplay which Jules Dassin has based on Christ Recrucified and which he intends to film in Crete.
Homer’s Iliad, translated by K. and Kakridis, is published in Athens at the translators’ expense (because no publisher dared publish it). It is celebrated as a literary event.
In October the printing of the 2nd and final edition of K.’s Odyssey begins. (this, too, at the poet’s expense), edited by E. H. Kasdaglis (completed in November, 1957).
“Difros” publishes in Athens, edited by E. H. Kasdaglis, the A΄ volume of K.’s Theatro, which includes “Prometheus”, “Kouros”, “Odysseus” and “Melissa”. The same publishing house presents the 1st edition of The Last Temptation (proofread by Nikos Kapnas), dedicated to Princess Maria Bonaparte.
Translations of Zorba are published in Milan and Zagreb.
Christ Recrucified²² is published in Paris and Verona.
Freedom or Death²³ in New York, Berlin, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki.

1956. May. Having completed the 1st writing of Report to Greco²⁴, Κ. travels again to Freiburg for his regular treatments, under the care of hematologist, Professor Heilmeyer. He returns to Antibes, and from there he departs for Vienna, where he receives, on June 28, the Peace Prize.
On July 5 the couple travels to Rogaska Slatina, in Slovenia. On August 3 they depart from Rogaska for a higher mountain near Bled, Bohinj, where they stay until the end of the month. (Eleni makes a short trip to Greece – in Crete, where Christ Recrucified is being filmed. K. receives Kimon Friar as his houseguest, to collaborate on the English translation of his Odyssey.)
First days of September, Κ. attends the “International meetings” in Geneva, and mid-month, he returns to Antibes to revisit Report to Greco.
The Nobel Prize is awarded to Juan Ramón Jiménez. K., who had been considered the most favored candidate until the last moment, congratulates his old friend with the warmest words. (Oct. 26).
The filming of Christ Recrucified is completed; the film’s title is: He Who Must Die.
The same novel, adapted for the theater, is performed in the summer by the “Greek Popular Theater” ²⁵ of Manos Katrakis in Athens.
“Difros” publishes in Athens the B΄ and the C΄ volume of K.’s Theatro. They include the tragedies “Christos”, “Ioulianos”, “Nikiforos Fokas”, “Konstantinos Palaiologos”; and “Kapodistrias”, “Christophoros Colombos”, “Sodom and Gomorrha”, “Buddha”²⁶. The same publishing house publishes Journeying – Russia and Journeying – Japan-China (in their final form) and two novels: Toda–Raba (translated from the French original by Giannis Maglis) and God’s Pauper. (All these publications were edited with the highest diligence by Ε. H. Kasdaglis.)
Translations of Kapetan Michalis are published in Oxford, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Reykjavik.
God’s Pauper in Hamburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen.

1957. January-February. K. revisits the translation of Homer’s Odyssey, awaiting the time he will cooperate with I. Th. Kakridis so that they will give it its final form.
He spends March in Freiburg, for his annual treatment. Upon his return to Antibes, he processes the pages he wrote from an old trip to the Middle East for a French publication which will bear the title: “Du Mont Sinaï à l’île de Vénus”²⁷. He continues his collaboration with Kimon Friar. He gives a long interview to the French Sipriot²⁸ –which was broadcasted in six shows of the Parisian Radio Station– in which he narrates his life, his work and puts forth his views. Jules Dassin’s film based on Christ Recrucified is screened successfully in Cannes with Κ. present. Plon Editions, which has undertaken the French publication of K.’s collected works, organizes in Paris a celebration to honor him (May).
K. returns to Antibes with his wife, only to depart once again for Verne on June 5, their first stop of a new journey to China, where he has been invited by the Chinese Government. Chrysos and Nellie Evelpidi come to meet them in order to continue their journey together. Prague (June 8) – Moscow (June 12) – Beijing (June 21). The Chinese organize a long voyage along Yangtze River for their four guests, against its flow. Beijing – Hankow (by air). Hankou – Chongqing (by boat). They advance up to Yunnan-Fou and lake Kunming (July 16). On July 19 they arrive by airplane in Canton. Having to return through Japan, they are forced to be inoculated against smallpox and cholera.

July 22: Hong-Kong. 26: Tokyo (Japan). Excursions to Kyoto, Nara, Nikko, Kamakura. On August 6, flying over the North Pole, K. is headed to Copenhagen. He suffers from an abscess (it escalated to gangrene) in his right arm, caused by the vaccine in Canton. He is admitted and treated in the National Hospital of Copenhagen. His condition worsens. He is transferred to Freiburg (Aug. 28.) and is admitted in the University Clinic. His ironclad constitution defeats the disease, Professor Heilmeyer considers him out of danger, saved. His friends Albert Schweitzer and Max Tau come to congratulate him. However, he contracts the Asian flu and deteriorates fast. Within four days, his enfeebled body collapses.²⁹

On Saturday October 26, at 10:20 at night, Nikos Kazantzakis delivers his spirit, at the age of 74, at the Freiburg-im-Bresgau University Clinic in Germany. His devoted life companion closes his eyes. She hears the final words that issue from his lips: “Water! Water!” So many oceans Odysseus had gazed upon had still not quenched his thirst.

“Why take me, Lord? My innards have not yet withered,
but brewing;
and if you say you love me, why, I shout out,
your right hand is killing me?”
(from the canto “Mouhametis”, ver. 140-143)

The casket with his remains arrives in Athens by land on November 3d at night. His wife and two-three friends receive him in Elefsina. We deposit his body at a mortuary of the First Cemetery of Athens for the wake.
On the next day, November 4th, we, along with some other friends, escort him to Heraklion. The body is laid out in the Metropolitan Church for public viewing.
On November 5, at 11:00 in the morning, the funeral service commences. Eulogies are delivered by the Minister of Education, Achilleas Gerokostopoulos, by representatives of cultural organizations and delegates from Cretan towns. The procession passes through the streets of Heraklion, which are filled with crowds of people. His body is buried on Martinengo Bastion, on the Venetian walls.

“... He stood high up on a turfy bastion. He gazed far at the open sea, brewing, perfectly blue, gleaming in the sun, and vanishing towards the North, towards Greece…. He sighed….”(from Kapetan Michalis 2nd ed. p. 139)