Symposium by Nikos Kazantzakis

Embodied in SYMPOSIUM is the rough core of Nikos Kazantzakis' philosophy. Written early in his career, and forgotten or lost, it gives us an invaluable record of his early adult life, while his philosophy was taking shape. These early concepts appear and reappear continuously throughout his later works. We can trace them in the philosophy of "Zorba," in the profound and powerful "Saint Francis," in the brilliant semiautobiographical "Report to Greco" (of which SYMPOSIUM is the nucleus), to name but a few of the later masterpieces. SYMPOSIUM, like his other modern sequel, and epic "Odyssey," is a provocative work, structured somewhat along the lines of its classic prototype, but without any of the slavish imitation he so despised. The challenge to compare the parallels and contrasts with the Platonic prototype will interest both student and general reader alike. Also, those interested in comparing Kazantzakis' early philosophy with his later views will find a wealth of information in this work, and surprisingly little change in his basic views. SYMPOSIUM'S unique charm lies in the way it is expressed—in the form of a confession-an eloquent outpouring of the soul, devoid of contrived oratory—devastatingly more effective in many ways than a more formally expressed philosophy. It is the struggle of a man's soul (his own) to find God—that is, to be liberated. Through it we become privy to the Kazantzakis struggle in search of meaning, both for his own life and that of his country, in the context of the political and intellectual climate of his time. In the process, we see him rejecting equally the "ready-made" philosophies of Western Europe and the strict imitation of past achievements, reaching back into primal creation, gathering strength from the collective, transubstantiated spirit of his Tribe, from its very inception, through all its subsequent evolutionary stages and, with Pythian-like authority, powerful and poetic, awkward and zealous, describing the tortuous journey of his soul in search of liberation. Much has been written about Nikos Kazantzakis, and a great deal more is yet to be written. Hardly a seminar is held on modern Greek literature that does not include a new paper on Kazantzakis. The discovery of SYMPOSIUM is a most fortunate addition to modern literature. Theodora Vasils and Themi Vasils have co-translated Nikos Kazantzakis' "Journeying." Among Theodora Vasils' other translations are short stories by Triandafillos Pittas and Thanasis Valtinos, and a book of poety, "In Another Light," by Koralia Theotoka. Her work has been published in "Eighteen Texts" and various quarterlies, and magazines. Themi Vasils is a contributing script-writer, contributing producer, and hostess of "Everyman," a weekly television program on NBC's Channel 5. She has also written, produced, and hosted her own weekly TV program,"The Greek Scene."