Ierapetra (Greek: Ιεράπετρα,meaning Holy Stone ,ancient name Hierapytna ) is a municipality and a town in the east of the Greek island of Crete, in the prefecture of Lasithi. The municipality has an area of 394.774 square kilometres and a population of 23,707 (2001). The municipality consists of the town of Ierapetra, several villages and hamlets and the island of Chrissi.