The Narrator is a young intellectual who rents a lignite mine in Crete to escape his passive, abstract life. He immerses himself in texts like Dante and the Buddha to structure his existence around high-minded ideals. Despite his ascetic tendencies, he genuinely yearns to experience the physical world. He views his new foreman, Alexis Zorba, as a guide to achieving this grounded existence.

Alexis Zorba is a traveling laborer and former soldier who lives strictly in the present moment. He rejects formal education and religious dogma, relying instead on his vast personal history to understand the world. He expresses his deepest emotions through dancing and playing the santuri. He approaches daily life with an enthusiastic appetite, eager to experience food, physical labor, and romance with equal vigor.

The Friend is a man of action who leaves Greece to fight for his countrymen in the Caucasus. He sharply contrasts with the narrator's passive nature and openly teases his friend for being a bookworm. He and the narrator share a deep bond, promising to send a telepathic warning if either faces mortal danger.

Madame Hortense is an aging French woman and former cabaret singer who runs a hotel in a Cretan village. She frequently reminisces about her youthful affairs with the four foreign admirals who once governed the island. She claims her romances saved Crete from destruction. She desperately misses being desired and quickly responds to Zorba's physical flirtations.

The Widow is a beautiful, alluring woman living in the Cretan village. She attracts intense attention and gossip from the local men. She maintains a fierce independence, famously rejecting the marriage proposal of a prominent village elder's son, which isolates her from the strict community.

Mavrandoni is a prominent village elder in Crete who commands respect from his peers. He owns the lignite mine that the narrator rents and initially offers his own home for the newcomers. He holds deep traditional values regarding family honor and social order, making him fiercely protective of his son.

Pavli is the young, infatuated son of village elder Mavrandoni. He is completely consumed by his unrequited feelings for the local widow. His inability to cope with her rejection causes immense distress for himself and threatens his family's pride.

Uncle Anagnosti is a hard-of-hearing village elder who expresses traditional Cretan fatalism. He claims contentment with his life, believing that his physical ailments are divine punishments for his family's past sins. He shares the village's strict views on social propriety.

Zacharias is a troubled monk living at the local monastery. He claims to harbor a devil named Joseph who demands meat and liquor, driving him to break his monastic vows. He acts as a self-described clown among the other monks and harbors deep resentment toward his superiors.

Mimithos is an impoverished errand boy who survives by doing odd jobs around the Cretan village. He avoids romantic entanglements entirely, believing himself too poor to afford the trouble women supposedly bring.

Manolakas is the strict, aggressive constable of the village. He enforces traditional Cretan morality with severe prejudice. He acts as the physical enforcer of the community's collective outrage when social codes are broken.

Lola is a young woman who encounters Zorba while he is supposedly buying supplies in Iraklio. She initially insults him by calling him a grandfather but quickly falls for his charms and money, entering into a brief romance with him.

Karayannis is an old student acquaintance of the narrator who now runs a successful rope factory in Africa. A former monk and teacher, he represents an extreme detachment from Greek identity and focuses purely on personal profit.

Demetrios is one of the monks residing at the local monastery. Like many of his brothers, he demonstrates behavior that contradicts his holy vows, participating in the institution's widespread corruption.

The Bishop is a religious official who engages the narrator in philosophical conversation at the monastery. He offers the narrator three abstract theories to make life more pleasant, aligning perfectly with the young intellectual's mindset.

The Mother Superior oversees a convent near the village. She discusses the concept of eternity with the narrator, sharing her belief that a sick nun will be cured in a decade or more.

Adroulis is a frantic villager who monitors the movements of the local women. He alerts the village when the widow breaks unwritten social rules by entering the church.