A Greek intellectual meets a kindred spirit in the realm of thought. From this meeting arises a small treasure of thoughts, ideas, and emotions that would be a shame to remain known only to the few lucky ones who at some point heard or read Theodosios Tasiou talking about Nikos Kazantzakis and analyzing his personality and the much-discussed aspects of his character.
The Nikos Kazantzakis Museum and the University Press of Crete are particularly pleased to collaborate for the first time to make this small treasure accessible to the art-loving audience. An audience that seeks its own renaissance in the thoughts of the spiritual leaders of our people.
In this short essay, Theodosios Tasiou attempts to contribute to the reevaluation of the “Kazantzakis issue,” a topic that is continuously pending and whose serious reappraisal is constantly postponed: “It is our duty,” emphasizes the author, “to understand the countless contradictions of Kazantzakis, which seem to stem from his indisputable uniqueness and the internal conflicts that this uniqueness appears to foster (or even express):
First and foremost, he was passionate about History and Philosophical Ideas – he was in no way a mere craftsman of words. However, having a multidimensional perception of Being (feeling that Substance cannot be accessed solely through Reason), he wanted to experience these Ideas. And, as if that were not enough, he was at times also drawn to Action.
From his philosophical ‘belief,’ and from his sensitivity to humanity, he occasionally wanted to intervene in social affairs – despite the fact that such actions pulled him away from his obsessive (with nails and teeth) writing trajectory. This fundamental dichotomy of interests created conditions that increased the likelihood of the emergence of ‘contradictions’ within the context of Kazantzakis’s political activity.
