Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization

In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization. Literacy had been lost and the Mycenaean script was forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. Objects inscribed with Phoenician writing may have been available in Greece from the 9th century BC, but the earliest evidence of Greek writing comes from graffiti on Greek pottery from the mid-8th century.