The Rhodopes Mountain is first mentioned by Herodotus. The general opinion is that the name is Thracian, which is quite plausible as several Thracian tribes used to live there. The Dii, known as “independent mountaineers bearing machairas”, joined the troops of the Thracian ruler Sitalk in the Peloponnesian War in the 5 th century B.C. The Satrae maintained the sanctuary of Dionysus where the diviners were from the warlike tribe of the Bessi.

The legends associate the Rhodopes with Orpheus and with the Thracian ruler Rezos who partook in the war of Troy. In the Antiquity these tribes lived mainly on stock-breeding, mining and foundry. It is the general opinion that the good knowledge of metal working led to the creation of unique metal masterpieces in the Rhodopes.