Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, bordering the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. The town is about 25 kilometers east of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

and west of Agios Nikolaos. What is usually called Hersonissos is in fact its peninsula and harbour. It is part of the

regional unit. It is situated 25 km from the

airport and 27 km from the

port. The seat of the local government unit is the village of Gournes.

Geography

The seaside resort of Hersonissos is officially the Port of Hersonissos ( el, Λιμένας Χερσόνησου, ''Liménas Chersónissou'') in distinction to the village of Upper Hersonissos ( el, Άνω Χερσόνησος, ''Ano Chersónissos'') further inland. Through tourism, the port town developed from the small harbour which served the original village, now known as Old Hersonissos.

History

The ancient town of

Chersonasus Chersonasus or Chersonasos ( grc, Χερσόνασος), later Chersonesus or Chersonesos (Χερσόνησος), was a town and ''polis'' (city-state) on the north coast of ancient Crete. It functioned as the harbour of Lyctus, and had a temple o ...

was important enough in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Creta et Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

early to become a Christian

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

Gortyna Gortyna ( grc, Γόρτυνα; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of ...

. The names of some of its bishops appear in extant documents: Anderius took part in the

Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

in 431; Longinus in the

Robber Council The Second Council of Ephesus was a Christological church synod in 449 AD convened by Emperor Theodosius II under the presidency of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria. It was intended to be an ecumenical council, and it is accepted as such by the mi ...

of 449; Euphratas was a signatory of the letter sent by the bishops of the province to the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Leo I the Thracian Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" ( la, Thrax; grc-gre, ο Θραξ),; grc-gre, Μακέλλης), referencing the murder of Aspar and his son. was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia A ...

in 458 after the killing of

Proterius of Alexandria Hieromartyr Proterius of Alexandria (died 457) was Patriarch of Alexandria from 451 to 457. He had been appointed by the Council of Chalcedon to replace the deposed Dioscorus. History Proterius was elected by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 t ...

; Sisinnius was at the

Trullan Council The Quinisext Council (Latin: ''Concilium Quinisextum''; Koine Greek: , ''Penthékti Sýnodos''), i.e. the Fifth-Sixth Council, often called the Council ''in Trullo'', Trullan Council, or the Penthekte Synod, was a church council held in 692 at ...

in 692; and another Sisinnius at the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, and ...

in 787.

Latin bishopric

After the Venetian conquest of Crete in 1212, the existing dioceses, such as Chersonesus, were administered by

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

bishops. The line of residential Latin bishops of Chersonesus ended with the conquest of Crete by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

in 1669.

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Chersonnesus in Creta is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as a

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

,''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 868 as such nominally restored in 1787 under the name 'Chersonesus', changed in 1933 to Chersonesus in Creta, avoiding confusing with other Latin sees called Chersonesus. It is vacant, having had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Karel Otčenášek (1950.03.30 – 1989.12.21) (later Archbishop)* * Titular Bishop: Bishop Antonio Cardona Riera (later Archbishop) (1928.03.10 – 1950.02.02) * Titular Bishop: Bishop Rafael Balanzá y Navarro (1923.08.13 – 1928.03.02) * Titular Bishop: Bishop Marc Chatagnon (沙), M.E.P. (1887.01.25 – 1920.11.26) * Titular Bishop: Bishop Johann Theodor Laurent (1839.09.17 – 1884.02.20) * Titular Bishop: Bishop Viktor Franz Anton von Glutz-Ruchti (1820.05.29 – 1824.10.09) * Titular Bishop: Bishop Ambrosi de Magistris (1818.10.02 – ?) * Titular Bishop: Bishop

Johann Casimir von Häffelin Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(later Cardinal)* (1787.09.28 – 1818.04.06)

Municipality of Hersonissos

The municipality of Hersonissos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units. These were

Episkopi Episkopi ( el, Επισκοπή), or Latinised forms Episcopia or Piscopia, may refer to the following places: ;Cyprus: * Episkopi Bay, on the southeast coast * Episkopi, Limassol, a village on Episkopi Bay * Episkopi Cantonment, a British military ...

, Gouves, Hersonissos and Malia. The municipality has an area of , the municipal unit .

Ancient remains

Roman fountain in Limi Hersonisos seaside street

At the modern settlement of Hersonissos is the site of the ancient town of ''Chersonesos'', an important seaport from

Classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Marti ...

through

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

times that served the city of

Lyttos Lyctus or Lyttos (Greek: or ), was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Lyttos is now a village in the municipality of Minoa Pediada. Lyctus in mythology According to Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

. The contemporaneous pleasure port is built over the remains of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

port. Some traces of those remains, most of them submerged, are still visible in some places. On the seaside street there is a pyramidal

fountain with mosaics of fishing scenes. On the top of the rocky hill behind the port stand the ruins of an early Christian

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

with floor mosaics. The vicinity of Hersonissos is noted for its prehistoric

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

finds. On the coast approximately one kilometer to the east of Hersonissos was an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess

Britomartis Britomartis (; grc-gre, Βριτόμαρτις) was a Greek goddess of mountains and hunting, who was primarily worshipped on the island of Crete. She was sometimes believed to be an oread, or a mountain nymph, but she was often conflated or syn ...

. William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography states: The episcopal see associated with this town is now a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

("Chersonesus in Creta") of the

Tourism

Hersonissos is a resort area in Crete, which also hosts the only golf club on the island. Tourist sites include; the Hersonissos Aquarium, Labyrinth Theme Park, and the

Dinosauria Park Dinosauria Park ( el, Ο Κόσμος των Δεινοσαύρων, ''O Kosmos ton Dinosauron'') is a dinosaur park located near the town of Gournes in Crete, Greece, east of the city of Heraklion. The park features some fossil replicas and sever ...

in Gournes. There are several beaches in Hersonissos, some with blue flag status. These include Potamos (blue flag) Karteros, Tobruk, Arina (municipal beach), Vathianos Kampos, Kokkini Hani, Gournes, Gouves, Apolselemis, Analipsi, Anissara (blue flag), Sarantaris (municipal beach), Hersonissos, Stalida, Klotsani, Malia and Potamos (municipal beach and blue flag).

Gallery

File:Agriana Village.jpg, alt=Village of Agriana, Agriana Village File:Analipsi Village.jpg, alt=Analipsis, Analipsi File:Anissaras Village.jpg, alt=Anisaras, Anissaras Village File:Avdou Village.jpg, alt=Village of Avdou, Avdou village File:Crete Golf Club.jpg, alt=Golf Club of Crete, Crete Golf Club File:Gonies Village View.jpg, alt=Village of Gonies, Gonies Village File:Hersonissos Coastline.jpg, alt=Hersonissos Coastline View, Hersonissos Coastline File:Kera Village.jpg, alt=Kera Village, Village of Kera File:Lychnostatis Open Air Museum.jpg, alt=Lychnostatis Open Air Cretan Museum, Lychnostatis Museum File:Port of Hersonissos.jpg, alt=Port of Hersonissos, Hersonissos Port File:Potamies Village.jpg, alt=Village of Potamies, Potamies Village File:Water Parks.jpg, alt=Water Adventure, Water Parks File:Panagia Kardiotissa.jpg, alt=Kardiotissa Panagia, Panagia Kardiotissa File:Piskopiano Village.jpg, alt=Piskopiano Traditional Village, Koutouloufari Village File:Window view in Hersonissos, Crete in 2012 view towards Thymarmi.jpg, alt=Window view towards Thymarmi

Line notes

Sources and external links

*
GCatholic.org
{{Authority control Municipalities of Crete Populated places in Heraklion (regional unit)