The tomorrow of yesterday

"In the days when Man was an ape-like brutish creature, the great civilization which had flourished on Mars was in turmoil. A few Martians managed to reach Earth, and in what is now Egypt they set about building civilization anew. They found Man brutish indeed, but not without intelligence, nor yet ineducable. By careful training and controlled breeding Man was raised above the other animals, and from the descendants of the Martians and the Earthlings arose the civilization of Greece..." -- From Publisher's description