The Greeks weren't writing at all. Linear B was irrevocably linked with palatial administration, and the collapse of the palatial system at the end of the Late Bronze Age caused a cessation in writing and administration. The most significant of the early Greek inscriptions appeared around 750 BCE in the form of the Dipylon inscription and Nestor's cup.

There is no consensus on when, where, and under what circumstances the Greeks adopted their alphabet from the Phoenicians. A decent history of the Greek language and alphabet can be found in Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer by Roger Woodard, who argues for the Greeks being introduced to the alphabet in Cyprus around 850 BCE by scribes who were used to writing Greek with the Cypriot syllabary.