According to the most widespread legend in the Rhodopes was born the mythical singer Orpheus, who enchanted people and animals with his magical music. Another ancient legend tells of the Thracian king Hem and the queen Rhodope, who loved each other so much that they called each other by divine names - Zeus and Hera. The gods became angry at their audacity and divided them, turning them into distant mountains (Stara Planina and the Rhodopes). These and other legends turn the Rhodopes into a place of special mysticism. In the eastern part of the mountain is the rock complex Perperikon. It was here that the temple of the god Dionysus was located, with which many legends are also connected. According to two of them, two fulfilled prophecies were uttered from the altar of the temple - one foretold to Alexander the Great the glory of a conqueror of the world, and the other foretold the power of the first Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus.