  In this paper we consider the issue of massive gravity from a pure field
theoretical point of view, as the massive deformation of the gauge theory for a
symmetric rank-2 tensor field. We look for the most general massive theory with
well defined propagators, imposing the absence of unphysical poles (ghosts). We
find several possibilities, depending on the choice of the gauge fixing term.
{Amongst these, two solutions with good massless limit are found.} The request
of the absence of ghosts, alone, does not isolate the Fierz-Pauli case: several
examples of massive theories, which may include or not the Fierz-Pauli mass
term, are given. On the other hand, the Fierz-Pauli theory can be uniquely
identified by means of a symmetry: it turns out the the Fierz-Pauli massive
gravity is the only element of the cohomology of a BRS operator.
