I said to the almond tree, "Friend, speak to me of God," and the almond tree blossomed.

He never became a consistent communist but visited the Soviet Union and stayed with the Left Opposition politician and writer Victor Serge. He gained renewed fame with the 1988 Martin Scorsese adaptation of his book The Last Temptation of Christ. " Upon his return to Greece he began translating works of philosophy.

He became known globally after the 1964 release of the Michael Cacoyannis film Zorba the Greek based on the novel. Nikos Kazantzakis (Greek: Νίκος Καζαντζάκης; February 18 1883 – October 26 1957) was a Greek writer and philosopher celebrated for his novel Zorba the Greek considered his magnum opus.