Other associations of the name Regulus

[jotwo2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 87744

The star associations of the name Regulus have been discussed.  I've 
done some research and found some other connections.

Regulus is a real name that was used by the Romans.  Microsoft 
Encarta has the following entry about an historical figure called 
Regulus.

Regulus, Marcus Atilius (died about 250 BC), Roman military leader 
remembered as a martyred patriot. He first became a consul in 267 BC 
and fought as a strong and uncompromising commander. In the First 
Punic War (264-241 BC), he commanded a Roman fleet which defeated 
that of Carthage in 256, and he later attacked the enemy on land in 
Africa. The Carthaginians defeated his forces the next year, however, 
and Regulus was captured. Five years later he was sent to Rome by the 
Carthaginians to discuss peace terms or an exchange of prisoners. He 
gave his captors his word that he would return to Carthage if his 
mission failed. Disregarding his own safety, he urged the Roman 
Senate to refuse peace and voluntarily returned to Carthage, where he 
was reportedly tortured and put to death.

I saw a TV programme on BBC2 a few weeks ago that briefly mentioned 
another Roman named Regulus.  I can't remember the name but it 
features a computer simulation about battles where a team tries to re-
fight a battle and win.  This was a battle between Romans and the 
Gauls in 225BC IIRC.  The Gauls lost in the end but not before one of 
the Roman commanders, Regulus, was captured and beheaded, and his 
head sent back to the Romans.
There is also a Regulus in the Christian tradition.  St Andrew, one 
of the apostles, is said to have been martyred in Greece.  When 
Emperor Constantine the Great became Christian he wanted to re-bury 
the Apostle's bones in Rome.  However a monk had a dream in which he 
was told to gather up as many of St Andrew's bones as he could find 
and take them to the end of the earth.  (Another version says this 
happened in the 8th century.)  Anyway, the monk duly did so and took 
ship.  The ship was wrecked on the Fife coast of Scotland and that is 
supposedly how St Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland.  The 
main point of the story is that the monk's name was St Rule or St 
Regulus. 
 
Being associated with a saint and a Roman hero, if Regulus Black 
turns out to still be alive, as fans suspect, then, if he lives up to 
his name, he should be one of the good guys.

JoTwo