Greece 2 Euro 2017 Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis (1883 - 1957) was the most important Greek writer of the 20th century. He wrote mainly philosophical works. He was a convinced Communist. Well-known works were Toda Raba, Odyssey and Zorba the Greek. His works were not always appreciated by the Greek Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church. Kazantzakis was nominated at least nine times for the Nobel Prize for Literature but never got the prize! When he died in 1957 he could not be buried in a graveyard! Yet, he is buried in Crete, on his grave is a decorated wooden cross is. Nikos Kazantzakis felt a real Cretan, a man of Crete, but spent most of his life abroad. He spoke French and German fluently and even spoke a little Dutch! To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the death of Nikos Kazantzakis, Greece has issued a special 2 Euro coin. On the coin is an image of Kazantzakis at an older age, looking left. On the left side of the image is the Greek text translating as Greece Democracy with the year 2017, along with the name Nikos Kazantzakis in Greek.