Gaius Aculeo was a Roman knight who married the sister of Helvia, the mother of Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

. He was unsurpassed in his day in his knowledge of the Roman law

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

, and possessed great acuteness of mind, but was not distinguished for other attainments. He was a friend of Lucius Licinius Crassus

Lucius Licinius Crassus

Lucius Licinius Crassus was a Roman consul. He was considered the greatest Roman orator of his day, by his pupil Cicero.He became consul in 95 BC. During his consulship a law was passed requiring all but citizens to leave Rome, an edict which provoked the Social War...

, renowned as the greatest Roman orator of his day, and was defended by him upon one occasion. The son of Aculeo was Gaius Visellius Varro; from which it would appear that Aculeo was only a surname given to the father from his acuteness, and that his full name was Gaius Visellius Varro Aculeo.