# Is "Zorba the Greek" by Nikos Kazantzakis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis (Dimitrakos, 1946) is identified by: The Greek true first is Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Vios kai Politeia tou Alexi Zorba), Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946: octavo, 353 pages, issued in original printed wrappers. The Greek edition (Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946) precedes every translation and is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Greek true first is Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Vios kai Politeia tou Alexi Zorba), Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946: octavo, 353 pages, issued in original printed wrappers
- The 1946 Dimitrakos imprint carries the identification; the novel was written on Aegina and completed in 1943
- The first edition in English is John Lehmann, London, 1952, translated by Carl Wildman: a stated first edition / first printing, 311 pages, bound in red cloth-effect paper-covered boards lettered in silver on the spine, with the publisher's topstain (usually faded), in a dust jacket designed by Stein — look for a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, as clipped flaps are common on this title
- The first American is Simon & Schuster, New York, 1953, using the same Wildman translation, 311 pages, in half grey cloth, with "First Printing" stated on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Dimitrakos
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nikos Kazantzakis |
| Publisher | Dimitrakos |
| Year | 1946 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Greek true first is Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Vios kai Politeia tou Alexi Zorba), Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946: octavo, 353… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The Greek true first is Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Vios kai Politeia tou Alexi Zorba), Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946: octavo, 353 pages, issued in original printed wrappers. The 1946 Dimitrakos imprint carries the identification; the novel was written on Aegina and completed in 1943. The first edition in English is John Lehmann, London, 1952, translated by Carl Wildman: a stated first edition / first printing, 311 pages, bound in red cloth-effect paper-covered boards lettered in silver on the spine, with the publisher's topstain (usually faded), in a dust jacket designed by Stein — look for a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, as clipped flaps are common on this title. The first American is Simon & Schuster, New York, 1953, using the same Wildman translation, 311 pages, in half grey cloth, with "First Printing" stated on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The Greek edition (Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946) precedes every translation and is the true first. Among English editions the London John Lehmann issue of 1952 is the first in English and precedes the Simon & Schuster New York issue of 1953 by a year, so the UK book is the first English-language edition and the US book is a first American only; both are collected. The 1955 Athens Difros printing recorded by the Kazantzakis Museum is a later Greek edition, not a first, and the French Alexis Zorba (1947) is likewise a translation following the Greek.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No contemporary book-club issue of either the 1952 Lehmann or the 1953 Simon & Schuster printing is documented in the sources consulted. The common reprint trap is the volume of later Simon & Schuster printings issued around the 1964 film; because the first American issue states "First Printing" on the copyright page, that statement is the check.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Zorba the Greek* by Nikos Kazantzakis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/zorba-the-greek
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.