The Functions of Colors, Notably Black and White, in Shâhnâmeh of Ferdowsi

Colors are among the qualities which have specific effects in our life. A good knowledge of these effects can reveal many secrets. In Shâhnâmeh of Ferdowsi, there are 4197 expressions concerned, in one way or another, with the idea of color, and of which, 3267 instances directly refer to the concept of color. These expressions fall into 18 categories.67.27% of the colors mentioned in Shâhnameh are the achromatics (black and white, dark and light, bright and piebald); and 32.73% are chromatics(red, yellow, green, purple,…).Through paying attention to the symbolic meanings of colors, one can realize the secrets of them and the artistic values related to them. At the same time, the affinity between this epic and a part of the mythologies of other nations will be manifested by examining these symbolic meanings. This article, attempts to trace at the various ways, black and white, are used in Shâhnâmeh.