physionomia

Updated: August 28, 2026

Polemon, in his Sulla Physionomia, has given among the signs of libidinous impulse: knees turned inwards, abundance of hairs on the legs, squint, bright eyes, a high and strident voice, and in women length of leg below the knee. Aristotle had mentioned among the signs of wantonness: paleness, abundance of hair on the body, thick and black hair, hairs covering the temples, and thick eyelids.

Havelock Ellis - Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 : Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy