The origins of biography are to be found in early legendary accounts of the Greek, Germanic and Celtic heroes. Another early type of biography is the records of the teachings and deeds of wise men. The accounts of the life and teaching of Socrates given by Plato and Xenophon may be regarded as a development of this kind of record. The interest of the Socratic dialogues of Plato is philosophic rather than biographical, but the Memorabilia of Xenophon, though not a biography in the modern sense of the word, comprises a series of sketches of the great philosopher with intimacy and vividness. The first European author, remembered primarily as a biographer, is Plutarch, a Greek philosopher who lived under the Roman Empire. His Parallel Lives on ancient Greek and Roman statesmen and soldiers is one of the most fascinating works of antiquity and influential in the European biographical tradition. Moreover, he seems to have been the first author to distinguish sharply between biography and history.