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Monoikos was a Greek colony founded the 6th century B.C. by Phocaeans of Massilia in today's area of Monaco. Previously a tribe of the native Ligurians, settled in the interior, were called the Monoikos by local Hellenes: the Greek Μόνοικος— μόνος + οίκος, "single house"— bears the sense of a people either settled in a "single habitation" or of "living apart" from others. Monoikos was associated with Hercules, venerated in this location alone as Hercules Monoecus. According to the "travels of Hercules" mytheme that was noted by Diodorus Siculus and by Strabo the geographer, both Greeks and native Ligurian people asserted that Hercules passed through the area. Virgil called it "that castled cliff, Monoecus by the sea" (Aeneid, VI.830). The commentator Servius' use of the passage (in R. Maltby, Lexicon of Ancient Latin Etymologies, Leeds) asserts, under the entry portus, that the epithet was derived:
- dictus autem Monoecus vel quod pulsis omnibus illic solus habitavit ("either because Hercules drove off everyone else and lived there alone"), vel quod in eius templo numquam aliquis deorum simul colitur ("or because in his temple no other of the gods is worshipped at the same time"). (No actual temple to Hercules has been located at Monaco; see also Lucan 1.405.).
The port is mentioned in Pliny's Natural History (III.v) and in Tacitus' Histories (III.42), when Valens was forced to put into the port (Fabius Valens e sinu Pisano segnitia maris aut adversante vento portum Herculis Monoeci depellitur).
The modern port is still sometimes called the "Port of Hercules".
Under Roman rule, Monoecus was part of Gallia Transalpina. After the collapse of the Empire, Monaco experienced a true "Dark Ages" when it was entirely depopulated by repeated raids, to be refounded under the protection of the Counts of Provence in the 10th century.
A colony of Genoa in 1215, Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi of Genoese extraction since 1297, except when under French control from 1789 to May 17, 1814. Designated as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna after Napoleon's defeat, Monaco's sovereignty was confirmed by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. The Prince of Monaco was an absolute ruler until a constitution was promulgated in 1911.
Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. In July 1918, a treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, written into the Treaty of Versailles, established that Monegasque policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests.
Prince Rainier III, the current ruler of Monaco, acceded to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II, in 1949. The current heir apparent, Prince Albert, was born in 1958.
A new constitution, proclaimed in 1962, abolished capital punishment, provided for female suffrage, established a Supreme Court to guarantee fundamental liberties and made it difficult for a French national to transfert its residence there.
In 1993, Monaco became an official member of the United Nations with full voting rights.
The principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center.
- See also : Monaco, List of the Princes of Monaco
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