Eye Gaze Communication in Ancient Rome: Eyelids Movement

This article presents part of the conclusions drawn from our research on eye gestures in Latin texts, which has been conducted within the framework of a broader study on gestures in Ancient Rome. We have established a classification of eye gestures that comprises two major sections based on the nature of the gestures: gestures that consisted in iris movements and those that involved eyelid movements. Focussing on the second of these sections, this paper analyses four gestures involving eyelids: blinking, winking one eye, closing the eyes and squinting.