The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet
Robert Graves. First published in 1948, the book is based on earlier articles published in
Wales magazine, corrected, revised and enlarged editions appeared in 1948, 1952 and 1961.
The White Goddess represents an approach to the study of
mythology from a decidedly creative and idiosyncratic perspective. Graves proposes the existence of a European
deity, the "White Goddess of Birth, Love and Death," much similar to the
Mother Goddess, inspired and represented by the phases of the
moon, who lies behind the faces of the diverse goddesses of various European and
pagan mythologies.