Literally, a gadfly is a fly that bites livestock, esp. a horsefly, warble fly, or botfly.
Figuratively it is an annoying person, esp. one who provokes others into action by criticism.
Io was a mortal woman who was favored in the sight of Zeus. He then turned Io into a heifer, to hide her from his wife. However, Hera was no fool and had set spies upon Io. After Io's transformation, Hera afflicted her with a gadfly (irritating biting fly) to torment her, as punishment.
You are Io, a mortal woman in Greek mythology who was pursued by Zeus. To protect her from Hera's jealousy, Zeus transformed Io into a cow. Despite his attempts to hide her, Hera sent a gadfly to torment Io, leading her to wander the earth in search of relief.
Well, in my opinion, she is good, but she can be evil. For example, what she did to Heracles was horrible, as well as what she did to the other children of Zeus' lovers. She was very jealous. In my opinion, Hera did many things that could be considered evil. As stated above, the case with Heracles- she sent snakes to strangle him when he was a baby. In addition, she sent a gadfly to eternally chase Io around, and took the voice away from the nymph Echo, leaving her to repeat the words of others. See 'related links' for more examples.
The moon of Jupiter called Io was named after Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus. Wikipedia says: In Greek mythology, Io (pronounced /ˈaɪ.oʊ/ EYE-oh or /ˈiː.oʊ/, in Ancient Greek Ἰώ[iːɔ́ː]) was a priestess of Hera in Argos who was seduced by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer to escape detection. Her mistress, Hera, set ever-watchful Argus Panoptes to guard her, but Hermes was sent to distract the guardian and slay him. Heifer Io was loosed to roam the world, stung by a maddening gadfly sent by Hera, and wandered to Egypt.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods, is known for her jealousy and vengeful nature, particularly against Zeus's lovers and their offspring. Significant actions include her relentless pursuit of vengeance against Zeus's mistresses, such as punishing Io by turning her into a cow and sending a gadfly to torment her. Additionally, she played a crucial role in the Trojan War, often siding against the Trojans due to her grudge against Paris for not choosing her as the fairest goddess. While her actions can be viewed as vindictive, they also highlight her fierce loyalty to her marriage and her role as a protector of women and marriage.
The Gadfly was created in 1897-06.
Gadfly - database - was created in 1994.
Hera caused Io in the form of a cow to flee from a gadfly.
The cast of The Gadfly - 2011 includes: Xander Berkeley
The Gadfly - 2011 was released on: USA: 13 August 2011
A gadfly is a fly which typically annoys horses and other livestock. Thus a gadfly will usually be found around these animals. The term 'gadfly' is also used to refer to someone who likes to upset the social status quo and you can find those everywhere.
I was convinced my brother had been reading my diary so I sent a gadfly to torment him.
If someone calls you a gadfly then they probably don't like you because it means "a pest." ~guayas gal
Gadfly
The hardcover copy of Mary Howitt and Tony DiTerlizzi's The Spider and the Fly is 40 pages long.
The cast of Gadfly - 2013 includes: Caleb Carlson as Julian John Glowacki as Felix Thallis Santesteban as Naomi
Plato described Socrates as the "gadfly" of the state because just like the gadfly stung horses into action, Socrates had "stung" various Athenians into unrest. In the end, he was sentenced to death for his controversial provocations.