Friedrich Nietzsche / Nikos Kazantzakis - Two Nietzsche Translations by Nikos Kazantzakis - 1912-1913

A rare and historically important two-volume offering: the first Greek editions of Friedrich Nietzsche’s "The Birth of Tragedy" / Η γένεσις της τραγωδίας (1912) and "Thus Spake Zarathustra" / Τάδε έφη Ζαρατούστρας (1913), published in Athens by G. Fexis and translated by a young Nikos Kazantzakis [Νίκος Καζαντζάκης].

Kazantzakis, who would later become one of Greece’s most influential writers and a repeated nominee for the Nobel Prize, approached Nietzsche not merely as a translator but as a profound intellectual influence. During this period, he undertook what scholars sometimes describe as “Nietzsche pilgrimages,” engaging deeply with the philosopher’s life, writings, and the landscapes connected to him. These translations therefore are not just renderings of Nietzsche’s texts, but documents of Kazantzakis’s own philosophical formation.

First editions of these works are quietly scarce on the market and rarely offered together. They represent a culturally significant moment when modern Greek literary expression intersected with one of Europe’s most influential philosophical voices. A remarkable opportunity for collectors, scholars, libraries, and anyone interested in the evolution of Greek modernism, Nietzsche’s reception in Greece, or Kazantzakis’s early career.


1) Nietzsche, Friedrich. I yennisis tis tragodias [The Birth of Tragedy]. Translated by N. Kazantzakis. Athens: Fexis 1912. [152 pages]. Original publisher’s binding; some stains on the cover, clean unmarked text, tight and complete. A good example of this rare first edition.

2) Nietzsche, Friedrich. Tade efi Zaratoustras [Thus Spake Zarathustra]. Translated by N. Kazantzakis. Athens: Fexis 1913. [271 pages]. Binding of the era; little wear on the cover, edges lightly bumped, clean unmarked text, tight and complete. A good example of this rare first edition.