He was the son of Photios Zorbas, a wealthy landowner and sheep-owner and had three siblings; a sister, Katerina, and two brothers, Ioannis and Xenophon.

His family had its roots in Kolindros, but after a conflict with the local Ottoman rulers, his father decided to move them to Katafygio.

[5] He worked in his fields and flocks at Katafygi, became a woodcutter, and later left for Palaiochori, Chalkidiki, where he spent the most decisive years of his life, 1889–1911.

He worked as a miner for a French company in Stratoniki, Chalkidiki and became friends with the foreman, Giannis Kalkounis (Γιάννης Καλκούνης).

Zorbas himself died on September 16, 1941,[7] and was buried in the cemetery of Vodno (quarter) near Skopje, then part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria).