Chersonese
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chersonese is a name that was given to several different places in ancient times. The word is Latin; it derives from the Greek term for "peninsula", chersonēsos, from chersos" ("dry land") + nēsos (island).
As might be expected, it was applied to a number of peninsular localities in the ancient world. These included:
- Chersonesos, ancient Greek colony located near the city of Sevastopol, Crimea
- Taurica also known as the Tauric Chersonese, ancient name for Crimea
- Thracian Chersonese or Chersonesus Thracica, ancient name for the Gallipoli Peninsula
- Chersonesus Aurea, or Golden Chersonese, ancient name for the Malay Peninsula, described by Ptolemy circa 150 AD.
- Chersonesus Cimbrica or Cimbrian Chersonese, ancient name for Jutland
- Syrian Chersonese referred to by Plutarch, believed to have been situated in a bend of the Orontes river in the neighbourhood of Antioch.