Written by Simeon Peebler
Published on March 22, 2001

Episode II Planet - Geonosis - Possible Source Material

I stumbled on some information that might provide some etymology to the planet name Geonosis. Given that George often pulls names and ideas from geography, history, mythology and religion, this is what I found:

The river Nile, one of the four rivers of paradise, is also known as Geon (or Gehon). It is named near the beginning of Genesis and is associated with the meaning: vale of Gehenna. Gehenna, in references written long after the time of Christ, denoted Tartarus; that is, the place of infernal punishment. It's original source in what I could find in some material on the net regarding Gehnna in Judaism: Gehenna is one word used for Hell. It comes from the Hebrew Gey-Hinnom, literally "valley of Hinnom." This word originated as the name for a place south of the old city of Jerusalem where the city's rubbish was burned. At one time, live babies were thrown crying into the fire under the arms of the idol, Moloch, to die there. This place was so despised by the people after King Josiah abolished this hideous practice, that it was made into a garbage heap. Bodies of diseased animals and executed criminals were thrown there and burned. Some scholars claim that human sacrifice did not occur then in the name of Moloch, but rather people coming of age had to walk over coals or jump over bonfires to gain Moloch's favor. In any case, this gives much more sense to the description we've heard about Geonosis than it being derived from "Genesis." It certainly seems like a hellish place from all the spy reports you've posted.

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