Hersonissos (Greek: Χερσόνησος, meaning “peninsula”, Chersónisos, pronounced [xerˈsonisos]), also transliterated as Chersonissos and Hersónisos, is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea.

Through tourism, the port town developed from the small harbour which served the original village, now known as Old Hersonissos.

The ancient town of Chersonasus was important enough in the Roman province of Creta et Cyrenaica early to become a Christian bishopric, a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Gortyna.

[6] At the modern settlement of Hersonissos is the site of the ancient town of Chersonesos, an important seaport from Classical Greece through Byzantine times that served the city of Lyttos.

On the top of the rocky hill behind the port stand the ruins of an early Christian basilica with floor mosaics.

[7] William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography states: 'CHERSONE’SUS (Χερσόνησος) … the haven of Lyctus, with a temple of Britomartis.