[Caduceus]

Unfortunately (or fortunately) you will find in pop culture, literature and all other forms of art, that imitation and re-invention are common.

An example is Shakespeare whose works were inspired by "historical" documents of his day and the folk history of people. Many of his stories were lifted directly from their historical source. The plays were considered trite and plebian in their day, but still stand today as some of the greatest ever written.

I guess there's no real point to this other than to say that disappointment in an unoriginal idea shouldn't lessen your enjoyment of the "copy". But Lucas himself has always admitted that he used a lot of sociology and myth sources to generate his saga.