Visitors look at a 2,300-year-old statue of the Boy of Marathon, or Ephebe of Marathon, at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens yesterday. Greek Culture Ministry officials have refused a request by the Louvre to lend the bronze statue to the French museum for a March 23-June 18 exhibition of ancient art in Paris, citing the risk of damage. Posters of the statue, dated between 325-300 BC, have already been displayed in Paris to advertise the upcoming exhibition.