Collections

As soon as it was finally decided that the Museum would be founded in the two-storey building in Myrtia, Yiorgos Anemoyannis set off on his “odyssey” to collect the material. He collected first editions of books, as well as texts published in literary magazines and newspapers. He drafted a list based on which he asked close friends and relatives, old bookshops, archives and libraries for notebooks that Kazantzakis kept as a student, as well as scrapbooks, personal items and letters.

The arduous quest went on for years “with the persistence that must characterise passionate collectors and with the invincible tenacity of those who pursue a goal” (says the Museum’s founder). Material was also sought abroad in an effort to find publications and letters in other languages, an effort that succeeded thanks to various people who made donations with willingness and enthusiasm.

During Yiorgos Anemoyannis’ quest, Eleni Kazantzaki provided moral and tangible support, offering archive material and addresses that led him to invaluable sources of material for the Museum. He went through many adventures and faced many challenges in order to search, find and obtain the material and the financial resources that were needed but he made it to the end: the creation of a museum with rare material, a place of memory and pilgrimage for Nikos Kazantzakis.

Most of the 50.000 items were grouped into the following collections: