Weapons of the Gods

Is it possible that our civilization is, in reality, just the latest in a long line one of many? Did previous cultures blossom, develop and thrive, only to be destroyed by something akin to the very same atomic technology that now threatens our entire society today? Was that technology created and unleashed by hostile extraterrestrials, ones with very little care, regard, or thought for the poor inhabitants of planet Earth? Even more incredible, could some of that very same technology have been shared with certain ancient, elite humans? Might we, then, be talking about atomic confrontations involving aliens and humans?