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The gadfly, a type of fly, known for plaguing cattle, appears in Greek mythology as a tormenter of Pegasus and Io, a human lover of Zeus. In the story, Zeus lusted Io, who is eventually turned into a white heifer to hide her from his jealous wife, Hera. This goddess is not fooled, and demands Io as a gift from Zeus.
Again the prick, the stab of gadfly-sting! O earth, earth, hide, the hollow shape—Argus—that evil thing—the hundred-eyed." [17] Mok Chi', patron deity of beekeepers, on a codex-style Maya vessel. In Hittite mythology, the god of agriculture, Telipinu, went on a rampage and refused to allow anything to grow and animals would not produce ...
The sacrifice of Argus liberated Io and allowed her to wander the earth, although tormented by a gadfly sent by Hera, until she reached the Ionian Sea, named after her, from where she swam to Egypt and gave birth to a love child of Zeus, according to some versions of the myth. According to Ovid, Argus had a hundred eyes. [11]
The image used by Socrates is applied in modern politics: [4] a gadfly is someone who persistently challenges people in positions of power, the status quo or a popular position. [6] For example, Morris Kline wrote, "There is a function for the gadfly who poses questions that many specialists would like to overlook. Polemics is healthy." [7]
Basan, a fire-breathing chicken from Japanese mythology; Cockatrice, a chicken-headed dragon or serpent, visually similar to or confused with the Basilisk. Gallic rooster, a symbolic rooster used as an allegory for France; Gullinkambi, a rooster who lives in Valhalla in Norse mythology; Rooster of Barcelos, a mythological rooster from Portugal
Gadfly (mythology), the insect as sent by Hera to torment Io in Greek mythology; Gadfly, the NATO reporting name for a Russian 9K37 Buk surface-to-air missile system; Education Gadfly, the weekly e-bulletin of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute; Autism's Gadfly, a blog maintained by Jonathan Mitchell (writer)
[7] [8] Other common names include tabanids, gadflies, green-headed flies, and green flies. [7] The word "Tabanus" was first recorded by Pliny the Younger and has survived as the generic name. In general, country folk did not distinguish between the various biting insects that irritated their cattle and called them all "gad-flies", from the ...
7.1 Greek mythology. 7.2 Origin myths. 7.3 Modern era. 8 ... Mosquitoes can develop from egg to adult in hot weather in as few as five days, but it may take up ...