Thrace from the 8 th to 3 rd century BC. This paper will study one subregion of Thrace-the Rhodope Mountains area. The cult life of this region will be analyzed from a historiographical point of view. We know that strong ancient and contemporary traditions associate those mountains with an intense cultic life, and important sacred places. But a closer study of the archaeological sources for sacred places in the Rhodope Mountains reveals a huge contrast between the Northern and Southern sides of the to present a comparative analysis of the network Rhodopes, and to propose some explanations to the observed discrepancy. The aim is to contribute to our understanding of cultic life in Ancient Thrace through a historiographical study.