The elements used in Avatar: the Last Airbender are Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. Despite the fact that ATLA is steeped in Eastern mythology, these elements are actually the ancient Greek elements. The actual ancient Chinese elements are Metal, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood. Another distinction is that the Greeks assigned something one or at most two elements, and did not consider an element to have any emotional traits. The Chinese considered everything to have all of the elements, each giving or taken something in turn: the key was in keeping the elements in check.

Fire is the element of ferocity and vigor. It was good for a soldier or an emperor to have Fire as their dominant element so that they may conquer their foes, though the ancient Chinese would have considered it trouble for a civilian to be predominantly Fire, as they would cause unnecessary conflict. Men who were unfaithful to their family were thought to have too much Fire.

Earth is the element of a hard worker, though often those predominantly Earth are somewhat opinionated. Those predominantly Earth are also supposedly better at finding contentment than most.

Metal is the element that kept someone weighted down. The Chinese did not consider this a bad thing - it was good for someone to understand their place in society and make sure that they stayed faithful to their family. A person lacking Metal would have an itch to travel and be considered sketchy or untrustworthy. Often women who were loose in inhibitions or found it difficult to be content with their family life were believed to lack Metal, rather than being excess in Fire.

(It is interesting to note that Katara is extremely prone to falling in love. In ancient Chinese mythology, this would be attributed to her lacking the Metal to wait patiently for the right man. Ancient Chinese women often wore much gold jewelry to suppress their temptations, and all Katara has is a single necklace with a bronze trinket. There is something to think about there….)

Water is a very powerful element, associated with the heavens and dragons. (Chinese dragons breathe Water and Mist, not Fire.) It is characterized with intelligence and strength, though excess Water makes a person cold, distant, and confused.

Air is not present in Chinese mythology as an element. Rather, the wind was considered to come from Wood and the forests.

The Greek elements also extended to their own fifth element, but this element was not found on the earth. This final element was called Aether, and was reserved exclusively for the Heavens. As mentioned above, the Chinese associated Water and occasionally Wood with the otherworldly

It is interesting to note that the Japanese and Hindu elements are the same as the Greek elements. (The single difference is that the Japanese called Aether the "Void" and the Hindu called Aether "Space.") Only the Chinese developed a unique set of elements.

The Chinese elements are also cyclic, while the Greek elements are not. The sense of an elemental cycle is Chinese, though since Chinese elements are different from the elements in ATLA the cycles are not comparable. In Chinese mythology, Earth was considered central, and Earth begets Metal, Metal begets Water, Water begets Wood, Wood begets Fire, and Fire begets Earth. At the same time Earth was stronger than Water but weaker than Wood, Wood was stronger than Earth but weaker than Metal, Metal was stronger than Wood but weaker than Fire, Fire was stronger than Metal but weaker than Water, and Water was stronger than Fire but weaker than Earth.