Méthodes d'interprétation des mythes chez Platon

This paper tries to determine how Plato expects his philosophical myths to be read and interpreted. First, it studies Plato’s disapproval of two exegetical strategies about traditional myths (allegorical interpretation and rationalist interpretation), which highlights the fundamental opposition of these strategies to philosophical research. Then, it intends to determine how the interpretation of Platonic myths can escape these difficulties, in particular thanks to their mimetic status, which transforms the exegesis of myth into a genuine philosophical process. Finally, it tries to understand why, in two historical myths, Plato thinks legitimate to make use of the rationalist perspective.