The Makedonian phalanx -- why such depth?

[PMBardunias]

The notion of the Greek phalanx rushing like Football players against their opponents to overturn them is clearly mistaken. First, the running charge is attested to first have been used by the Athenians in Marathon, secondly, the hoplite armies were (as were the Romans) based on taxis (order).

It is also known that the "Othismos" phase was long after the "Doratismos", which demanded space between the hoplite and his target. Actually, we have lots of descriptions of the "Othismos", which are not as known as they should.

Should 50 men really push forward, the first lines would be crushed or lose their steps and places in the line and this was absolutely not the case.

I agree that the current "orthodox" model is flawed for all these reasons, but I do think that othismos involved a physical "push" forward. Take a look at my model, which takes into account what really happens when groups of men collide, you will find possible answers for some of the objections above. Here:

http://hollow-lakedaimon.blogspot.com/