INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS
The University of Cyprus will host an International Conference on Nikos Kazantzakis from 19–21 June 2026, bringing together leading scholars from Europe, North America, and beyond to explore the life, work, and enduring legacy of one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century.
Organized by the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Cyprus in collaboration with the Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies, the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College London, Baylor University, the Modern Greek Studies Program at Rutgers University, and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University, the conference will examine the many dimensions of Kazantzakis's thought and literary production.
Best known internationally for works such as Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) continues to inspire readers across cultures and disciplines. His writings engage profound questions of faith, freedom, identity, spirituality, politics, and human responsibility, while his travels and intellectual encounters connect Greek culture to global conversations.
The conference programme reflects the contemporary scholarship on Kazantzakis. Presentations will address themes including theology and mysticism, politics and ideology, classical reception, travel writing, gender and subjectivity, literary intertextuality, textual scholarship, adaptation, and cultural reception. Scholars will explore Kazantzakis's engagement with Christianity, philosophy, communism, ecology, Homeric tradition, modernism, and global intellectual networks.
By bringing together established academics and emerging researchers, the conference seeks not only to reassess Kazantzakis's contribution to world literature but also to examine the continuing relevance of his ideas in the twenty-first century. At a time marked by political uncertainty, cultural transformation, and renewed debates about faith, identity, and human freedom, Kazantzakis's work remains remarkably timely.
The conference will take place at the University of Cyprus Main Campus in Aglantzia, Nicosia (Amphitheater B108) and will be conducted in English.
For further information, please contact: kazantzakis-conference@ucy.ac.cy
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