The mind painfully embraced Crete. He loved it like a living, warm thing, that had a mouth and cried out, and eyes that shed tears, and it was not made of stones and earth and tree roots, but of thousands and thousands of grandfathers and mothers, who never die, but live and gather every Sunday in the churches and become fierce from time to time, unrolling a gigantic flag from the graves and taking to the mountains.
And upon this flag, for years, the immortal mothers have stitched with their raven, gray, and pure white hair the three immortal words: FREEDOM OR DEATH. For a moment his lips, his eyebrows, his eyes twitched, he looked around at his companions, down to Turkish lands, up to the uninhabited sky... "Freedom or death!" he murmured, shaking his head wildly.
"Freedom or death, you poor Cretans! Freedom and death! This is what I must write on my flag; this is the true flag of every fighter! Freedom and death!"
The novels of his mature period include: Life and Times of Alexis Zorba, Captain Michalis, The Last Temptation, Christ Recrucified, Tonda Ramba, The Rocky Garden, The Poor Man of God, Brotherfathers.
As well as his historical autobiographical work: Report to Greco. Also published are the novels from the youthful period of Nikos Kazantzakis: Serpent and Lily, Broken Souls.
