Plot

God tells Abraham that he is going to annihilate Sodom and Gomorrah. Following lengthy entreaties, the old man manages to secure the salvation of Lot, the only just man among the inhabitants of the sinful cities. As Abraham is on his way to tell him, Lot wakes up in terror, wondering why God is tormenting him with lascivious dreams. Soon afterwards he realises that the sexual intercourse he had with his daughters was not in a dream.

Incensed at God's harshness, he is further enraged by the news Abraham brings him. He refuses to abandon the city, and tells the old man of his his sinful past and his intention to stand up to God. As Abraham leaves, the Fire-Haired Angel arrives on Earth to destroy the cities. Though God has forbidden him to drink wine and come into contact with women, he gets drunk and has intercourse with Lot's daughters.

He then goes to the king's palace together with Lot and meets the queen, who thinks she is seeing her dearly beloved son, who was murdered several years earlier by Lot on the king's orders. Incited by the queen, the angel kills the king. Abraham returns to Sodom to take Lot with him, for the destruction of the cities has already begun. But Lot refuses to follow him, entrusts him with the protection of his family, and stays in the burning city together with the angel.

Writing history

Written in Antibes in 1948.

Greek editions

  • N. Kazantzakis, Sodoma ke Gomorra, Nea Estia vol. 45, issues 520-527 (1.3.-15.6.1949) pp. 276-279, 357-360, 438-441, 494-497, 560-564, 653-656, 713-716, 762-765, and vol. 46, issues 528-532 (1.7 - 1-9. 1949) pp. 844-847, 927-930, 992-995, 1067-1069, 1131-1134 - offprints were also made
  • N. Kazantzakis, Theatro III. Tragodies me diafora themata. Capodistrias, Christoforos Colomvos, Sodoma ke Gomorra, Voudas, edited by E. C. Kasdaglis, Athens: Difros 1956
  • N. Kazantzakis, Theatro III. Tragodies me diafora themata. Capodistrias, Christoforos Colomvos, Sodoma ke Gomorra, Voudas, Athens: Eleni Kazantzakis 1971 - and subsequent editions; the one published in 1998, edited by Patroklos Stavrou, is a reprint of the 1956 edition

Foreign editions & translations

  • Nikos Kazantzakis, "From Burn me to Ashes", translated into English by Kimon Friar, Greek Heritage: The American Quarterly of Greek Culture, vol. 1, issue 2 (Spring 1964) 61-64
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Sodoma y Gomorra, translated into Spanish by Enrique de Juan, in the volume Obras Selectas. Novelas - Teatro - Viajes, Ι, Barcelona: Planeta 1968
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Sodom and Gomorrah, translated into English by Kimon Friar, The Literary Review, vol. 19, issue 2 (Winter 1976) 122-256 - with an introduction by Peter Bien
  • Two Plays by Nikos Kazantzakis. Sodom and Gomorrah, Comedy, a tragedy in one act, translated into English by Kimon Friar, with an introduction by Karl Kerényi (translated by Peter Bien) Nostos Books 1982 / St. Paul, Minnesota: North Central Publishing Co. 1982
  • Two Plays by Nikos Kazantzakis. Sodom and Gomorrah, Comedy, a tragedy in one act, translated into English by Kimon Friar, with an introduction by Karl Kerényi (translated by Peter Bien), St. Paul, Minnesota: North Central Publ. Co. 1982
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Sodome et Gomorrhe, translated into French by A. Ioannidis (undated)

Performances and adaptations

  • Feuer über Sodom [= Fire over Sodom], Nationaltheater, Mannheim, 1954. Directed by Wolfgang v. Stas a.G. Cast: Friedrich Gröndahl, Karl Marx, Erich Musil and others. The premiere was attended by Nikos and Eleni Kazantzakis
  • Sodom and Gomorrah, University of California Theatre Group, Shoemberg Hall, 1959. Directed by James Elliott, translated by Kimon Friar, music by Elmer Bernstein, produced by George Edwards. Cast: Jeff Corey, Abraham Sofaer, Paul Lukather and others
  • Burn me to Ashes, performance at the Jan Hus Playhouse, New York, 1963. Directed by Anthony Michales, translated by Kimon Friar, music by Serge Tcherepnine, Bari and Bennett Productions. Cast: Micahel del Medico, Neil Vipond, Don Gunderson and others
  • Performance at the Wallman Auditorium, California, 1965. Music by Mack Schlefer
  • Sodoma ke Gomorra, "Proskinio" Troupe, Athens Festival 1983. Directed by Alexis Solomos. Cast: Thanos Kostopoulos, Nikos Tzoyias, Christos Tsangas, Christos Parlas and others