The starting point of any discussion regarding the artistic and ideological formation of Kazantzakis is inevitably related to the interplay of tradition and modernity in his cultural identity, coupled with his desire to break free from the traditional, essentially Heraklion society of the late 19th century, into which, however, the new 'daemons' of modern European society had begun to penetrate.
The book mainly deals with the five plays that Kazantzakis wrote or published between 1906 and 1910: Dawn, How Long?, Faska, Comedy, The Master Builder. Although it brings to light new and previously unexamined material (such as the original manuscript of Dawn and the outline of a 'second version' of The Master Builder), it primarily attempts a synthetic historical interpretation of Kazantzakis' youthful dramaturgy in conjunction with the reception of the artistic movements and ideological currents of the European avant-garde: the crystallization of Kazantzakis within the framework of Neo-Romanticism and Decadence, as well as his integration into the camp of Anti-Enlightenment.
It also examines the manner in which the assimilation of avant-garde movements occurred in relation to the domestic historical context, and analyzes the sediments produced by their distillation: Kazantzakis’ role in countering Modernism and enriching the local dramaturgical tradition of Romantic Classicism, the absence of 'individualism', and the contradictions created by the meeting of tradition and modernity in the author's identity.
Finally, the historical contribution of Kazantzakis' early theatre to modern Greek dramaturgy in the early twentieth century is assessed in relation to the phenomenon of Decadence.
[Excerpt from the publisher's or edition presentation text]
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