ATHENS, Greece - In 1801, Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to Constantinople, hit upon what he considered a splendid idea.
The ancient Greek temple of the Parthenon - among the most famous buildings in the world - was decorated with a series of 17 marble figures and a 525-foot-long frieze depicting the ancient Greek gods and heroes. They didn't seem to be doing anybody any good at the 2,500-year-old edifice atop the Acropolis.
So why not hammer them off and transport them to a place where they would be better appreciated - that is, England's green and pleasant land?
He persuaded the Ottoman Turkish rulers of Greece to allow him access to the Parthenon, where he hired a crew that chiseled and sawed off about 60 percent of the priceless marbles and sent them back to London. They eventually ended up in the British Museum.
As the 2004 Athens Olympics approaches, Greece is stepping up its demands for the return of the ancient sculptures. For 35 years, the Greeks have insisted on the marbles' return. But now the campaign is catching on internationally, starting at the grass-roots level.
"I think time will show that the public is for the return of the marbles," says Elena Korka, head of the Department for Greek and Foreign Archaeological Institutes in the Ministry of Culture. "It's becoming a universal issue. After all, the marbles were integral parts of the Parthenon, and they have meaning only when they stand next to the place of their origin."
To press its case, the ministry has been staging symposiums and photographic exhibitions on the marbles. One event was held last month at the European Parliament, which has endorsed Greece's claim. Greece is also making pleas to British officials.
The effort is catching on with the public. Committees pushing for the sculptures' return have sprung up in countries as disparate as Yugoslavia and Canada. And some of the strongest support comes from the United Kingdom, where members of Parliament and such celebrities as actors Sean Connery and Judi Dench support the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles.
Former President Bill Clinton and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin have endorsed Greece's claims.
But the British Museum insists the campaign is a wasted effort. Backed by the Labor government, the museum says it won't hand over the marbles. The Greek suggestion that the marbles are meaningless out of context contradicts the philosophy of the museum, officials say.
