the Italian artists of the Renaissance repeated the subjects, in a vain hope of giving some notion of the composition of them.
Few things are more hopeless than the attempt to realize the style of a painter whose works have vanished. But a great wealth of stories, true or invented, clung to Apelles in antiquity; and modern archaeologists have naturally tried to discover what they indicate. We are told, for example, that he attached great value to the drawing of outlines, practising every day. The tale is well known of his visit to Protogenes, and the rivalry of the two masters as to which could draw the finest and steadiest line. The power of drawing such lines is conspicuous in the decoration of red-figured vases of Athens. Apelles is said to have treated his rival with generosity, for he increased the value of his pictures by spreading a report that he meant to buy them and sell them as his own. Apelles allowed the superiority of some of his contemporaries in particular matters: according to Pliny he admired the dispositio of Melanthius, i.e. the way in which he spaced his figures, and the mensurae of Asclepiodorus, who must have been a great master of symmetry and proportion. It was especially in that undefinable quality “grace” that Apelles excelled. He probably used but a small variety of colours, and avoided elaborate perspective: simplicity of design, beauty of line and charm of expression were his chief merits. When the naturalism of some of his works is praised—for example, the hand of his Alexander is said to have stood out from the picture—we must remember that this is the merit always ascribed by ignorant critics to works which they admire. In fact the age of Alexander was one of notable idealism, and probably Apelles succeeded in a marked degree in imparting to his figures a beauty beyond nature.
Apelles was also noted for improvements which he introduced in technique. He had a dark glaze, called by Pliny atramentum, which served both to preserve his paintings and to soften their colour. There can be little doubt that he was one of the most bold and progressive of artists. (P. G.)
APELLICON, a wealthy native of Teos, afterwards an Athenian citizen, a famous book collector. He not only spent large sums in the acquisition of his library, but stole original documents from the archives of Athens and other cities of Greece. Being detected, he fled in order to escape punishment, but returned when Athenion (or Aristion), a bitter opponent of the Romans, had made himself tyrant of the city with the aid of Mithradates. Athenion sent him with some troops to Delos, to plunder the treasures of the temple, but he showed little military capacity. He was surprised by the Romans under the command of Orobius (or Orbius), and only saved his life by flight. He died a little later, probably in 84 B.C.
Apellicon’s chief pursuit was the collection of rare and important books. He purchased from the family of Neleus of Skepsis in the Troad manuscripts of the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus (including their libraries), which had been given to Neleus by Theophrastus himself, whose pupil Neleus had been. They had been concealed in a cellar to prevent their falling into the hands of the book-collecting princes of Pergamum, and were in a very dilapidated condition. Apellicon filled in the lacunae, and brought out a new, but faulty, edition. In 84 Sulla removed Apellicon’s library to Rome (Strabo xiii. p. 609; Plutarch, Sulla, 26). Here the MSS. were handed over to the grammarian Tyrannion, who took copies of them, on the basis of which the peripatetic philosopher Andronicus of Rhodes prepared an edition of Aristotle’s works. Apellicon’s library contained a remarkable old copy of the Iliad. He is said to have published a biography of Aristotle, in which the calumnies of other biographers were refuted.
APENNINES (Gr. Ἀπέννινος, Lat. Appenninus—in both cases used in the singular), a range of mountains traversing the entire peninsula of Italy, and forming, as it were, the backbone of the country. The name is probably derived from the Celtic pen, a mountain top: it originally belonged to the northern portion of the chain, from the Maritime Alps to Ancona; and Polybius is probably the first writer who applied it to the whole chain, making, indeed, no distinction between the Apennines and the Maritime Alps, and extending the former name as far as Marseilles. Classical authors do not differentiate the various parts of the chain, but use the name as a general name for the whole. The total length is some 800 m. and the maximum width 70 to 80 m.
Divisions.—Modern geographers divide the range into three parts, northern, central and southern.
1. The northern Apennines are generally distinguished (though there is no real solution of continuity) from the Maritime Alps at the Bocchetta dell’ Altare, some 5 m. W. of Savona on the high road to Turin.[1] They again are divided into three parts—the Ligurian, Tuscan and Umbrian Apennines. The Ligurian Apennines extend as far as the pass of La Cisa in the upper valley of the Magra (anc. Macra) above Spezia; at first they follow the curve of the Gulf of Genoa, and then run east-south-east parallel to the coast. On the north and north-east lie the broad plains of Piedmont and Lombardy, traversed by the Po, the chief tributaries of which from the Ligurian Apennines are the Scrivia (Olumbria), Trebbia (Trebia) and Taro (Tarus). The Tanaro (Tanarus), though largely fed by tributaries from the Ligurian Apennines, itself rises in the Maritime Alps, while the rivers on the south and south-west of the range are short and unimportant. The south side of the range rises steeply from the sea, leaving practically no coast strip: its slopes are sheltered and therefore fertile and highly cultivated, and the coast towns are favourite winter resorts (see Riviera). The highest point (the Monte Bue) reaches 5915 ft. The range is crossed by several railways—the line from Savona to Turin (with a branch at Ceva for Acqui), that from Genoa to Ovada and Acqui, the main lines from Genoa to Novi, the junction for Turin and Milan (both of which[2] pass under the Monte dei Giovi, the ancient Mons Ioventius, by which the ancient Via Postumia ran from Genua to Dertona), and that from Spezia to Parma under the pass of La Cisa.[3] All these traverse the ridge by long tunnels—that on the new line from Genoa to Honco is upwards of 5 m. in length.
The Tuscan Apennines extend from the pass of La Cisa to the sources of the Tiber. The main chain continues to run in an east-south-east direction, but traverses the peninsula, the west coast meanwhile turning almost due south. From the northern slopes many rivers and streams run north and north-north-east into the Po, the Secchia (Secia) and Panaro (Scultenna) being among the most important, while farther east most of the rivers are tributaries of the Reno (anc. Rhenus). Other small streams, e.g. the Ronco (Bedesis) and Montone (Utis), which flow into the sea together east of Ravenna, were also tributaries of the Po; and the Savio (Sapis) and the Rubicon seem to be the only streams from this side of the Tuscan Apennines that ran directly into the sea in Roman days. From the south-west side of the main range the Arno (q.v.) and Serchio run into the Mediterranean. This section of the Apennines is crossed by two railways, from Pistoia to Bologna and from Florence to Faenza, and by several good high roads, of which the direct road from Florence to Bologna over the Futa pass is of Roman origin; and certain places in it are favourite summer resorts. The highest point of the chain is Monte Cimone (7103 ft.). The so-called Alpi Apuane (the Apuani were an ancient people of Liguria), a detached chain south-west of the valley of the Serchio, rise to a maximum height of 6100 ft. They contain the famous marble quarries of Carrara. The greater part of Tuscany, however, is taken up by lower hills, which form no part of the Apennines, being divided from the main chain by the valleys of the Arno, Chiana (Clanis) and Paglia (Pallia). Towards the west they are rich in minerals and chemicals, which the Apennines proper do not produce.
The Umbrian Apennines extend from the sources of the Tiber to (or perhaps rather beyond) the pass of Scheggia near Cagli, where the ancient Via Flaminia crosses the range. The highest point is the Monte Nerone (5010 ft.). The chief river is the Tiber itself: the others, among which the Foglia (Pisaurus), Metauro
