According to mythology Orestes killed his mother, Clytemnestra. Feeling remorseful and chased by the Erinyes, he decides to go to the Oracles to find a solution. They indicated to him to bathe at the confluence of the three rivers Arda, Evros and Tunja. So Orestes did what he was told and was saved from the Erinyes who were chasing him like a matricide. At the place where he was "saved" he builds temples and names the city Orestiada. According to another version, the area got its name from the nymphs who lived at the confluence of the three rivers (Ardas, Evros, Tuntza) in the abundant waters and dense vegetation. Thus the beautiful location was named Orestiada. From the 6th c. BC in this area lived the Thracian Odryses people whose capital was Oskudama, which means gold, wealth. After the Treaty of Lausanne in July 1923, the city of the old Orestiada was evacuated and fell into the hands of the Turks, due to the jealousies of the allies and the weaknesses of Greece. In the same year, Nea Orestiada (the current city) is built by the 900 families who lived in the old city.