Gang combat

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

We can't say that this is what ancient combat would have looked like from these videos. Nor that this is how phalanxes faught. What they can give us an idea about is how crowds without any drill or even basic command are likely to act. It also gives us an idea why according to Herodotus,the Persians thought the Athenians were struck by madness when they saw them comming towards them at a run! These men have no weapons,no shields,and nobody has ever told them to stay close to his own men,not to break the formation. To the extend that they do this it is pretty much their own human instinct.
Plato gives some hints on how the defeated withdrew after the formation broke. There would be those dropping their shields and running away,who could easily get killed with spears on their back. And those that formed small groups of few men that held their shields up and stepped back slowly,ready to opose whoever came to strike them down. And the winners would never preffer to kill a man that boldly held his position ready to die fighting, rather than go for an easy kill.
The second "battle" on the bridge i think simulates better what would happen when one phalanx broke,because the winners didn't break into individuals running alone. Of course this is what a well commanded phalanx would do,and indeed the Spartans seem to have had some discipline concerning how much they would chase their enemies.
Khaire
Giannis