Zorba the Greek (Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά Vios ke Politia tou Alexi Zorba, Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek intellectual who ventures to escape his bookish life with the aid of the boisterous and mysterious Alexis Zorba. The novel was adapted into a successful 1964 film of the same name by  Michael Cacoyannis as well as a 1968 musical, Zorba.