Walking in Roman Culture, a new book by Timothy M. O’Sullivan, argues that we have "translated away" how essential walking is to our character:
In ancient Rome how you walked was a sign of who you were. Quite simply, it could be an indication of paternity. When people wondered whether Cleopatra’s child, young Caesarion, really was the son of Julius Caesar, they pointed to his walk (incessus) as much as to his facial features. Gait ran in families. Think, for example, how often those Roman family names (often derived – like Crassus, "Fatty", or Rufus, "Redhead" – from physical characteristics) referred to feet or to odd ways of walking: Plautus, "flat-footed"; Valgus, "bow-legged"; Varus, "knock-kneed". As O’Sullivan observes, "'a family gait’ was no less distinctive than ‘a family nose'".
The Dish 