During the Greek War of Independence, the island of Kasos consisted of 7000 people who mostly worked as fishermen, shipwrights and sea captains. The vast majority of them joined the Greek Revolution by supplying ships and fighters to the cause.

This tiny Aegean island did so much damage to the Ottoman fleet that Egypt was enlisted to try and destroy it entirely, ending its support to the other rebels once and for all.

The Kasos Massacre occurred during June of 1824, resulting in 500 dead Greeks and over 2000 women and children sold into slavery by the Ottomans. Many families fled to neighbouring islands such as Rhodes, Icaria and Samos.

To honor their heritage these families abandoned their original names and assumed surnames like Kassotis (Κασώτης), Kassiotis (Κασσιώτης), and Kassotakis (Κασωτάκης). Due to the small size of the island of Kasos, the close ties, similar journeys and the shared history of these people, our clan considers them all kin and equal members of our larger family.

This association was founded in 2024, 200 years after the Kasos Massacre by Pantelis Kassotis, a 6th generation direct descendant of Georgios Zizzis (Italiano: Giorgio Zizzi), a Kasian sailor of Venetian origin who fought with the fleet of Admiral Georgios Sachtouris, and settled in the island of Icaria after the Battles of Gerontas and Samos.

The mission of our clan association is to reconnect with our kin, that now resides across the world and provide genealogy records for them so they can better research their history and living relatives in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Kasos played an important role in the liberation of Greece and all Christian populations from the Ottoman Turks and its diaspora should know and honor that past. It’s why modern day Kasos is officially named “Heroic Kasos” by the modern Greek state, to signal the debt modern day Greece owes to this small but mighty island.

In 2024 two commemorative €5 silver coins were minted by the Bank of Greece to honor the 200th anniversary of the Kasos Massacre and the Battle of Samos, the two pivotal events that resulted in the founding of our clan.

Membership is not compulsory to access our records and there are no annual membership fees. All members of the original Kasian families that now reside in Rhodes, Icaria, and Samos are considered natural members of our clan by right of birth.

We are a registered armigerous clan in the Heraldic & Genealogical Society of Greece and foreign organizations such as the Society of American Armigers, the Scottish Armorial Register -International Register of Arms, and the Spanish Registro Internacional de Armas Gentilicias (RIAG). 

The use of the term "clan" is not to be confused with the Scottish Clans which fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Lord Lyon. We are a Greek organization and subject to modern Greek laws and traditions.

Recognized clan members have the right to use our heraldry in their armorial achievements* and can be registered in our official roll-of-arms which is housed in the National Library of Greece and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Kallithea, Attica, Greece.

*We also provide assistance free of charge to all members who wish to officiate their arms with various heraldic authorities across the world.