Nikos Kazantzakis (Greek Νίκος Καζαντζάκης; February 18, 1883, Heraklion, Crete, Ottoman Empire - October 26, 1957, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) - Greek writer, poet and playwright, translator, one of the largest authors of the 20th century .Best known for the novels “Captain Michalis” (in the English translation “Freedom or Death” 1949), “The Passion in Greek” (or “Christ is Crucified Again”, 1948), “The Life and Deeds of Alexis Zorbas” (1946), “ The Last Temptation" (1955),  “The Poor Man of Assisi” (1956, about Saint Francis), “The Fratricides.” Author of several dramas, philosophical works written under the influence of Nietzsche, the epic poem "Odyssey" (published in 1938), translator of Dante's "Divine Comedy" (1932) and Goethe's "Faust" (1936).