Chapter 17 Summary

Zorba and the narrator wake early to ascend the mountain to lease land for the cable railway from the monks who own the property. On the way up to the monastery, they meet the monk Zaharia, who warns them to turn back. Zaharia speaks of the sinfulness of his fellow monks, but it soon comes out that Zaharia himself has "a devil inside him" as well. The devil, named Joseph, wants to eat meat on holy days, and Zorba feeds Joseph well. Zaharia also tells the tale of the monastery's patron saint, Our Lady of Revenge, whose statue once killed a horde of Algerian invaders. On reaching the monastery, several monks demand to see a newspaper, while another, Demetrios, wants to show the travelers his icon of a clay nun.

The abbot, whom Zorba and the narrator must meet to sign paperwork, is...