Marcus Aquilius Regulus was a Roman senator, and notorious delator or informer who was active during the reigns of Nero and Domitian. Regulus is one of the best known examples of this occupation, in the words of Steven Rutledge, due to "the vivid portrait we have of his life and career in Pliny, Tacitus, and Martial."[1] Despite this negative reputation, Regulus was considered one of the three finest orators of Roman times. Rutledge points to the judgment of Martianus Capella, who ranked him with Pliny the Younger and Fronto as the greatest Roman orators after Cicero.[2] However, none of his speeches have survived from ancient times.
According to Tacitus, his father was exiled under Nero and his wealth divided amongst his creditors, but does not name him.[3] Paul von Rohden suggests his father might be identified with Lucius Aquillius L.f. Regulus, the pontifex and quaestor of Tiberius mentioned in CIL VI, 2122.[4] Tacitus also identifies Lucius Vipstanus Messalla as his half-brother,[5] and it is generally assumed they shared the same mother; she has not been identified.