In antiquity, Aristotle articulated a theory of the fundamental elements that comprise the physical world, identifying four primary substances: fire, earth, air, and water, each associated with specific qualities such as hotness or dryness.
It became the basis for western thinking about the natural (especially inanimate) world right up untill the rise of chemistry in the 18th century. http://www.kheper.net/topics/cosmology/elements.html
Aristotle was one of the people to identify four essential elements. Fire, which is hot and dry.
Earth, which is cold and dry.
Air, which is hot and wet.
Water, which is cold and wet.
He also proposed a fifth element. * Aether, which is the divine substance that makes up the heavenly spheres and heavenly bodies (stars and planets).