<P> The term ' elements ' ( stoicheia ) was first used by the Greek philosopher Plato in about 360 BCE in his dialogue Timaeus , which includes a discussion of the composition of inorganic and organic bodies and is a speculative treatise on chemistry . Plato believed the elements introduced a century earlier by Empedocles were composed of small polyhedral forms : tetrahedron ( fire ) , octahedron ( air ) , icosahedron ( water ) , and cube ( earth ) . </P>
<P> The term ' elements ' ( stoicheia ) was first used by the Greek philosopher Plato in about 360 BCE in his dialogue Timaeus , which includes a discussion of the composition of inorganic and organic bodies and is a speculative treatise on chemistry . Plato believed the elements introduced a century earlier by Empedocles were composed of small polyhedral forms : tetrahedron ( fire ) , octahedron ( air ) , icosahedron ( water ) , and cube ( earth ) . </P>
who used the term element for the first time
who used the term element for the first time
Plato
Plato