greek cypriot speakers? Help with origin of a greek name?

Question:So im half greek cypriot and my family's surname is pissas.
Ive been searching all over the internet for the origin of this name and have come up with nothing (although i did find out my grandfather michael pissas was arrested for protesting a war in the 60's, this was on bbc.com haha) anyways, i would so appreciate if anyone had any insight into this name or any place/book/website that would help me find more out?! thank you so much.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: So im half greek cypriot and my family's surname is pissas.
Ive been searching all over the internet for the origin of this name and have come up with nothing (although i did find out my grandfather michael pissas was arrested for protesting a war in the 60's, this was on bbc.com haha) anyways, i would so appreciate if anyone had any insight into this name or any place/book/website that would help me find more out?! thank you so much.

It's hard to believe a Cypriot never heard the name Pissas considering how powerful Michalakis Pissas was back in the days of the war and the rise of the unions.

But a call to a friend who teaches Greek at the University of Michigan and the answer that "pissa" is the Greek word for pine pitch or "bitumen". Pissas is a place in Greece that arose around a beautiful pine forest. It is probable that the family name derived from either an ancestor who came from that land or else an ancestor who lived near a pine forest.

My in-laws live in Cyprus, in Larnaca, but that hasn't helped me to find you the answer I have just phoned them, and its not a name they are familiar with either. I have searched the regular name 'origin sites' but I cant find anything for you, sorry. Have a look at this site it's normally quite good for name origins.
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/fact...