The Gadfly Symbol Analysis

At a certain point in his defense, Socrates refers to himself as a gadfly as a way of representing the fact that his philosophical investigations are annoying but necessary to the moral health of Athens. To illustrate this point, he says, “I was attached to this city by the god […] as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly.” It’s worth noting here that although Socrates says the “horse” that the gadfly “stir[s]” is “somewhat sluggish,” he also suggests that it is “noble.” As such, he implies that the animal possesses great potential—potential that need only be reawakened. This, it seems, is what Socrates himself does for his fellow Athenians: he “rouse[s]” their virtue by forcing them to reckon with their own shortcomings. As such, they see him as a nuisance, a social gadfly that won’t leave them alone. By presenting this metaphor involving the gadfly and the horse, though, Socrates reminds the jury that his seemingly annoying behavior ultimately benefits society by forcing people to try harder to embody virtuousness.