Nikos Kazantzakis

Greek novelist, essayist, philosopher, playwright, and travel writer. Born on February 18, 1883, Kandiye (now Heraklion), Crete, Ottoman Empire - Died on October 26, 1957, Freiburg, Germany. One of the most important and most translated Greek writers and philosophers of the 20th century. In 1957, he lost the Nobel Prize for Literature to Albert Camus by one vote. Famous films based on his novels include "Zorba the Greek" (directed by Michael Cacoyannis) and "The Last Temptation of Christ" (directed by Martin Scorsese). He married Γαλάτεια Καζαντζάκη in 1911; they divorced in 1926. He met Eleni Samiou in 1924. They began a romantic relationship in 1928, though they were not married until 1945. They were married until his death. Samiou died in 2004.