Some of the ideas that served as arguments against atomism and what this revealed about

how the Greeks thought about matter and the world:

• The philosopher Anaxagoras argued that there was an infinite number of elementary natural
substances in the form of infinitesimally small particles that combined to comprise the different
things in the universe.

• Another theory by a philosopher named Empedocles stated that everything is made up of

four eternal and unchanging kinds of matter, fire, air (all gases), water (all liquids and metals)
and earth (all solids).

• The well-known philosopher Plato further expanded Empedocles’ theory by saying each of
the four kinds of matter is composed of geometrical solids (the “Platonic solids”) further
divisible into triangles. When rearranged, these triangles could cause the apparent
transformations between the four basic kinds of matter.

• Aristotle, on the other hand, believed that the four elements could be balanced in substances
in an infinite number of ways, and that when combined gave proportions of “essential
qualities,” hot, dry, cold and wet. Transformations between the four elements (or changes in
their balance in a substance) caused changes in the universe.

Our concept of matter didn’t advance much during this time, the practical aspect of dealing
with substances, matter and materials flourished in different civilizations before and after the
Greeks:

• The Mesopotamians had techniques to utilize metals like gold and copper. They even
assigned certain symbols to match metals with the heavenly bodies such as the Sun and Moon.
They also made use of other materials such as dyes, glass, paints, and perfumes.

• The Egyptians adapted techniques from the Mesopotamians and perfected the use of
bronze, dye and glass that the Greeks later copied.

• The Chinese also had their own processes for metalwork and ceramic materials, but they
especially focused on finding minerals, plants and substances that could prolong life. Some of
the substances discovered in Chinese medicine have been found to have actual positive effects
while others were found useless or even harmful, like mercury.

• The Indians, like the Chinese, had a kind of alchemy (rasayana) that looked at different
substances and practices for Vedic medicine. This is tied closely to Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.
They also perfected the use of iron and steel and were well-known manufacturers of dyes,
glass, cement, solutions for textiles, and soap.

• The Arabs and Muslims enriched not only the practice but also the literature of chemistry.
In particular, the scholar Jabir Ibn-Hayyan, also known as Geber, translated the practices and
Aristotelian thinking of the Greeks and wrote extensively on how metals can be purified. He
came up with the preparation of acids such as nitric, hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, as well
as aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid).

Despite many of the progress being practical, much of it was shrouded in mysticism or cultural
beliefs, and was often a result of trial and error. These advances in materials, metallurgy and
medicine would often be collectively referred to in history as alchemy, from the Arabic/Greek
alkīmiyā or “the art of transmuting.”
The field of alchemy became popular in the Western world because of Aristotle’s ideas on the
elements and the techniques developed by other civilizations. Alchemists tried to play with the
balance of the four elements (fire, water, air, earth) and three principles (salt, sulfur and
mercury) to transform or transmute substances. Among their aims was to try and transform
“impure” or “base” metals like lead or iron into the “purer” metals of silver or gold, discover a
magical “Philosopher’s Stone,” and produce the so-called “Elixir of Life.” With a T-chart,
distinguish how alchemy both contributed to and hampered scientific thought.