2. The mural

He represents the two men (Nikos Kazantzakis & George Zorbas) at the age they were when they were here, at the beach of Kalogria, in the year 1917. Kazantzakis was thirty-four and Zorbas was fifty years old. The mural is a depiction of a photograph given by Kazantzakis to Zorbas with a personal dedication on it, along with the date 1917. It was initiated by the "NARTOURA" Association for their 100th anniversary since their presence here, at the expense of the residents. The mural was created by Costas Louzis (skitsofrenis).

George Zorbas was a genuine Macedonian. He was born in Kolyntro of Pieria in 1865, son of the wealthy shepherd and landowner Fotis Zorbas and Eugenia Spanou. He had three siblings, Katerina, Giannis who became a doctor and Xenophon who became an engineer. A mysterious adventure of his father with a Turk forced the whole family to resort in Katafygi of Kozani to hide, where they bought plots of land and many sheep and goats. At that time, Macedonia was under Turkish occupation and the living conditions were difficult. Unfortunately, Zorbas lost his mother early, the family collapsed economically and his father retreated to Mount Athos due to his sorrow.

After his father's departure to Mount Athos, George remained alone watching the flocks. The animals, however, got sick and died. So, George, who wanted to become a shepherd, was forced to leave his village to seek his own fortune. Having learned and practiced all the professions of "mind and foot" as he said, he finally went to the mines of Chalkidiki. He has gone through all the stages of this difficult job there and gained admirable experience as a miner. When he hit the ground with his hammer, he understood what was underneath. He never made a mistake when pointing to the spot they needed to dig to find the coal.

Zorbas fell in love with the 16-year-old daughter of the janitor, Eleni Kalkouni. After Eleni got pregnant, they left together and got married in secret. Helen gave birth to twins, but her angry father kidnapped them when he learned about their marriage. On the way back, in the snow and on the horse, one of the two babies died, which made the old man collapse. The couple had eight more children. Eleni was a true Amazon and Zorbas loved her a lot, but he lost her to tuberculosis when she was thirty-three. Later Zorbas took six of his children and brought them with him to Kalogria in 1917. Despite his turbulent romantic life, he never remarried.

He is characterized as a yokel, a hard worker, an alcoholic, a man of prosperity and dance and an "empirical wise man". In 1917, during Halloween he roused everybody at Stoupa into a celebration. He had been dressed as a masquerader and performed funny sketches, everybody was laughing and they enjoyed their time there. Despite his attraction to the female sex, he never gave anybody in the closed local community any rights to gossip- which did not allow room for situations such as this anyway. He often travelled to Kalamata in his boat, pretending there is some deficiency, in order to visit the infamous neighborhood.

The last stop of Zorbas's turbulent life was at Skopje. He settled there with his daughter, Katina, whose progeny are still alive. Zorba himself was living with Lyuba and being fortunate enough he got his own mine. But he collapsed when Hitler seized it. He died of sorrow and the hunger and hardship of the war in 1941. His tomb is located in the "Mundel" cemetery of Skopje. His descendants live today in Greece and Skopje.

Circumstance brought the two men together. They met on Mount Athos, where Kazantzakis realized the drive and abilities of Giorgos Zorbas and made him a chief worker when he acquired the Prastova mines, near Stoupa. At the beach of Kalogria, where they were staying, they were given the opportunity to get to know each other well and to bond through a strong friendship that lasted until death. When the writer learned about his friend's death in 1941, he wrote the novel "Zorba the Greek" in Aegina. Although 25 years have passed since the adventure in Mani, it is evident in the book that Kazantzakis was carrying the living memories he had acquired in that place.

Kazantzakis, wanting to show how important was Zorbas to him, states: "In my life, the greatest benefactors have been the travels and the dreams for me. Of the people, alive and dead, very few helped with my struggle. If I wanted to pick out those who left their tracks deeper in my soul, I might have distinguished three or four of them: Homer, Berxona, Nietzsche and Zorbas. Zorbas taught me to love life and not to be afraid of death. If I were to pick only one guru in the whole world today, I would definitely pick Zorbas."

Zorbas had the same feelings of deep friendship and admiration for Kazantzakis: "Boss", he shouted "I have a lot to say to you, I have never loved a man like you, I have a lot to tell you but I can't describe them with words. So I will put them into dance! Keep away; don't let me step on you! Come on! Hop! Hop!" He leapt; his feet and his hands became his wings. He jumped straight up and as I saw him in the depths of the sky and the sea, he seemed to me like an old archangel rebel." Quotation from "Zorba the Greek”, pg. 343

Initially, Kazantzakis mentioned his hero with his real name, Georgios. But, after the first publication, he was violently attacked and got a lawsuit from Zorbas's first son, Andreas. That’s why he changed it to Alexis, which means the one who resists. In 1964 Michalis Kakoyannis carried over to the screen the story of lignite and Zorba as it was conceptualized by Kazantzakis. The film won three Oscars and Alexis Zorbas became famous worldwide as a Greek standard, performed with great success by Anthony Quinn. The music of the film which was composed by Mikis Theodorakis became world-known as Syrtaki.

The fictional Zorbas plays the zither while the real Zorbas did not know how to play the instrument, but he was really good at playing the bouzouki. Perhaps the writer chose the zither because its sound expresses sorrow in a better way. His grandchildren also inherited his music talent. The unforgettable Paul Sidipropoulos was his great grandson, from his daughter, Tassia.

Kazantzakis reports that he met Zorbas in Crete and that the events described in the book took place there. But the historical truth is that everything happened in Stoupa of Mani, in the Kalogria beach and Prastava, where the lignite mines were. When the author was asked, he replied: "In Mani I met wonderful people, but I only lived there for a while. I know Crete well, I carry it inside me."

Documentary Film "Kazantzakis & Zorbas - Stoupa 1965" Director: Kostas Tsagaris Scenario: John Anapliotis Production: Elias Pergantis Archive file: John & Maria Theodorakea The documentary has been screened for first time subtitled in English, during the festival "Kazantzakis & Zorbas in Stoupa 100+1 years later", organized by the Cultural Association for Art & Nature “NARTURA".