T IS PERHAPS too early to try to assess with certainty Nikos Kazantzakis' contributions to modern Greek literature or to render an informed judgment on his permanent stature in the realm of international letters.1 The Cretan author died less than ten years ago, and although his works are no longer as fiercely controversial in Greece as they were when they first appeared, there still remain reputable critics who believe that his popularity is the result of a "succ's de circonstance," and that the acclaim accorded him abroad is definitely excessive when compared to the neglect that the writings of other great modern Greek authors-Solomos, Calvos, Palamas, Sikelianos, etc.-have encountered in Western Europe and in the United States.2 No one, however, will deny him credit for ushering into Greece the travel account as a literary form.3 One of the countries which Kazantzakis selected for his earliest deliberate treatments of the travel account as "matter for literature" was Spain, which the Greek intelligentsia had theretofore almost entirely ignored. Hence, Nikos Kazantzakis may be looked upon as the author of the travel book that was responsible for the belated discovery of Spain by the Greek men of letters.