Orpheus – the mythical Thracian singer, born near today’s village of Guela in the Rhodope Mountains, who, according to the Greek mythology, took part in the quest of the Argonauts together with Jason and Heracles.

Spartacus – the famous Roman gladiator, born in a village near the present-day Sandanski, at the foot of the Pirin Mountain, became the leader of the biggest slave uprising in Antiquity (74 AD).