Sir Kenneth Dover, an eminent scholar of ancient Greek life, language and literature who became known for his willingness to break longstanding taboos in print, from his frank descriptions of sexual behavior (both the Greeks' and his own) to his baldly stated desire to bring about the death of a vexing Oxford colleague, died March 7 in Cupar, Scotland. He was 89.

His death was announced by the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Sir Kenneth retired as the university's chancellor in 2005.

The author of many books on the Greek classical age, Sir Kenneth was known in particular for "Greek Homosexuality" (Duckworth, 1978). It was the first openly published scholarly work to talk about Greek male love in unfettered sexual terms.

Sir Kenneth was knighted in 1977 for his service to scholarship. But his vast academic contributions were overshadowed in 1994 with the appearance of his provocative memoir, "Marginal Comment" (Duckworth).

In it, Sir Kenneth abandoned traditional British restraint in discussing, among much else, his sexual exploits with his wife, Lady Audrey Dover. Nor did he stint, as The Times of London said in its review of the book, in his use of "the Anglo-Saxon tetragram" to recount the proceedings.

The memoir also described Sir Kenneth's time as the president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford -- he held the post from 1976 to 1986 -- and his antipathy for a colleague there, the historian Trevor Aston.

Aston was by all accounts a brilliant but destructive presence: alcoholic, vitriolic, seemingly unstable and at times suicidal.

To Sir Kenneth, Aston was a weighty professional encumbrance. In "Marginal Comment," he wrote of fantasizing about a solution: "It was clear to me by now that Trevor and the college must somehow be separated," Sir Kenneth wrote. "My problem was one which I feel compelled to define with brutal candor: how to kill him without getting into trouble."

As his memoir recounts, Sir Kenneth consulted a lawyer to ascertain his legal position were he to choose to ignore any future suicide threat by Aston. In 1985, Aston died from what appeared to be a deliberate overdose of pills and alcohol. In "Marginal Comment," Sir Kenneth wrote of his relief -- even joy -- on learning of his colleague's suicide.

Though Sir Kenneth was considered to have borne no direct responsibility for the death, his level of moral culpability was roundly debated in British academic circles.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.