Hoplites fought the same way for their entire existance. Crowd mechanics represents this very well. They would push their opponents and when those pushes were coordinated, it would send a massive shock wave trough their enemies making them fall back in disarray. Music helped to achieve this coordination. A panicked crowd shockwave is known to send people flying and wrecking cars. This explains why numbers were not decisive in hplite warfare because even with fewer numbers, if you achieved greater coordination you'd be able to generate more bruite force than your opponent.
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