| The Last Temptation of Christ | |
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1st UK edition |
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| Author(s) | Nikos Kazantzakis |
| Original title | O Teleutaios Peirasmos |
| Translator | Peter A. Bien (US) |
| Country | Greece |
| Language | Greek |
| Genre(s) | Religion, Historical novel |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster (USA) & Bruno Cassirer (UK) |
| Publication date | 1960 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 506 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-684-85256-X |
| OCLC Number | 38925790 |
The Last Temptation of Christ (or The Last Temptation) is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1953.[1] It was first published in English in 1960.[2] It follows the life of Jesus Christ from his perspective. The novel has been the subject of a great deal of controversy due to its subject matter, and appears regularly on lists of banned books.[3]
The central thesis of the book is that Jesus, while free from sin, was still subject to every form of temptation that humans face, including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust. Kazantzakis argues in the novel's preface that by facing and conquering all of man's weaknesses, Jesus struggled to do God's will, without ever giving in to the temptations of the flesh. The novel thus powerfully advances the argument that, had Jesus succumbed to any such temptation, especially the opportunity to save himself from the cross, his life would have held no more significance than that of any benign philosopher. In this sense, the novel can be viewed as thoroughly orthodox and traditionalist in its attitude to Jesus role as redeemer.
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In 1988, an equally controversial film adaptation by Martin Scorsese was released. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus and Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot.
In the second episode of the Cartoon Network series Moral Orel, the book is one of many to be burned by the censorious town librarian, who uses a copy of Last Temptation as a makeshift torch. It is discussed in The Da Vinci Code when in a flashback Sophie remembers her grandfather defending the film version.