Patroclus’s comparison of Achilles to a flood is significant. A flood is an impersonal force, something that by its nature cannot be stopped, and which cannot stop itself. The metaphor makes Achilles into something super-powerful and inhuman, but at the same time absolves Achilles of moral responsibility for his actions. Patroclus always does seem to find a way to look past or explain away Achilles killing. Achilles, meanwhile, paints himself as more moral, because he allowed a single member of the family to live. That murdering an entire family is connected to glory only further tarnishes the Greek idea of glory. And in seeking this glory Achilles has perhaps brought his fate closer to pass, by doing something to provoke Hector that he had not intended.