APENNINES 



291 



APOCRYPHA 



APENNINES, ap' e nynz, the mountain range 

 that forms the "backbone" of Italy. It extends 

 from the head of the Gulf of Genoa to the 

 toe of the "boot" and covers about two-thirds 

 of the area of the peninsula. The central divi- 

 sion extends to the coast of the Adriatic Sea, 

 but on the west the mountains are separated 

 from the Mediterranean Sea by the Apennine 

 Forelands. 



The Apennines are divided into three divi- 

 sions, the Northern, the Central and the South- 

 ern Apennines; each division includes a num- 

 ber of smaller mountain ranges. The sides of 

 the mountains are covered with vegetation, 

 but their summits are bare. They are low 

 mountains, having an average altitude of 4,000 

 feet. The highest peak, the Gran Sosso, is 

 9,583 feet; the most noted is Vesuvius (which 

 see). The Apennines contribute much to the 

 scenery of Italy, and furnish her with beauti- 

 ful marble for which the country has been 

 noted from most ancient times. The Arno 

 and the Tiber are celebrated rivers rising 

 within these mountains. 



APHASIA, aja'zhia, a Greek word mean- 

 inn speechlessness, is used in English to de- 

 scribe a curious result of certain nervous dis- 

 orders. The patient loses the power of 

 expressing ideas by means of words, or loses 

 the appropriate use of words, though the vocal 

 organs may be in perfect condition and the 

 mind clear. There is sometimes a total loss 

 of words and sometimes the loss of a few only. 

 In one form of the disease, -called aphemia, 

 the patient can think and write, but cannot 

 speak; in another, called agraphia, he can 

 think and speak, but cannot express his ideas 

 in writing nor understand anything which he 

 sees written. In a great majority of cases, 

 win re examinations after death have been 

 made, changes have been found in the brain 

 areas which preside over speech. W.A.I 



APHIDES, aj' idecz, very small greenish or 

 i>i oun bugs, commonly known as plant 



h\ . on the tender shoots of plants, sucking 

 -ap through long, sharp beaks. Most of 

 these insects discharge from the alimentary 

 canal a sweet liquid, the "honey dew" so much 

 liked by ants and <>tli<r insects (see A 

 Aphid*-.- !::mu t. uriiuinu crops, gar- 



drn vrurlaMrs :illd hothouse plants, but tliry 



. ii iiiselvcH the prey of birds, ants, spiders 

 and hd.vl>ir<l beetles. 



APHRODITE, ajrodi' tc, the Greek goddess 

 of love and beauty. She is far better known 

 by her Roman name of Venus (which see). 



APIA, ape' ah, the principal town of the 

 Samoan Islands. It lies on the north side 

 of the island of Upolu, and its fine harbor has 

 made it the commercial center of the islands 

 of the South Pacific Ocean. The town con- 

 sists practically of a single street running along 

 the harbor, which is the best in the islands. 

 On the division of the islands between Ger- 

 many and the United States in 1900, Apia 

 became the capital of German Samoa, but in 

 1914 it was captured by Australian troops and 

 became a British possession. Near Apia is 

 Vailima, once the home of Robert Louis 

 Stevenson, and on the summit of Mount Vaea, 

 which overlooks the town, Stevenson lies 

 buried. Population in 1915, about 1,500, one- 

 third of whom were Europeans. 



A 'PIS, a sacred bull that was worshipped 

 by the ancient Egyptians, and kept in the 

 temple of Osiris at Memphis. The bull se- 

 lected possessed certain very special and dis- 

 tinguishing features, such as a black hide with 

 certain marks on the forehead and back and 

 other distinguishing marks. The birthday of 

 the bull Apis was celebrated every year by 

 the people. When he died he was embalmed 

 and buried in a splendid sarcophagus in a 

 special part of the temple and his death was 

 followed by a period of public mourning. 



APOCALYPSE, apahk'alips. The last book 

 of the New Testament, the work of the Apostle 

 John, opens with these words: "The revelation 

 of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to 

 show unto His servants things which must 

 shortly come to pass." In the Greek language 

 the word for revelation is apocalypse, from a 

 verb meaning to uncover, and thus the book 

 of prophecies came to be known, from its first 

 word, as the Apocalypse oj John. This name, 

 while still retained in works on theology, is 

 changed in the English version of the Bible to 

 the Rfi'i-lntiun oj Saint John the Divine. For 

 its contents and interpretation, see REVELATION 



APOCRYPHA, apok' rijah, a term applied 

 to various sacred books which pen \\ntten 

 between the writing of the books of the Old 

 Testament and the beginning of the Christian 

 dispensation. The term means hidden or con- 

 cealed. The books of the Apocrypha are not 

 accepted as authonz. d books of the Bible by 

 t lie Protestant churches, but they are accepted 

 by the Roman Catholic Church. The term 

 is specially applied to the following books, 

 writ i i-n dm inn tin t\\o centuries preceding the 

 birth of Christ: The first and second books 

 of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the latter part of 



