The science of alchemy was built around the five Ancient Greek elements.
Alchemists believed that a small amount of Aristotle’s quintessence had drifted down to Earth and that if they could harness its properties they could cure diseases with it. Some came to identify it with the Philosopher’s Stone, which could be used to turn other metals into gold and grant eternal life to people who consumed it.
While modern chemistry owes a debt to the practical methods developed by alchemists, their theories, based on the ideas of Empedocles and Aristotle, hindered the development of chemistry for over 2000 years.