The Greek myths we are familiar with today are the product of generations of storytelling. Many were adaptations of stories that the Greeks gleaned from other cultures. Before about 800 B.C., when the Greek alphabet was developed, myths were passed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth. It was also through oral storytelling that myths and legends traveled from one part of Greece to the next, as well as to other parts of the world. However, after 800 B.C., stories began to be written down, including most of the tales that we now recognize as the basic core of Greek mythology.