Were they tackling each other like football or something? Just feels like if you’ve got a 20 foot spear pointed forwards, there’s no point in having other people behind you pointing their sticks at the sky.
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The extra ranks do three things. One the 2nd-4th or 5th rank have their points down between or over the 1st and other ranks making it a hedge of points. The sources claim that “ran at each other” which would break any formation if done at anything greater than a trot or quick time. The phalanx crash into each other if morale holds, spears striking at any target that has opened in the movement. if the 1st rank misses the others may hit, if the man in front falls the 2nd is ready step into the gap. If enough a hit in one place the third rank or fourth rank would need to step up.
Then they came to the push with the rear ranks adding mass, the front rank would have lost.dropped the spear and using daggers in the press, stronger ones in the ranks might be able to strike over the ranks. Until one side would give way and run. The winning side would chase them down killing the slower, the extra, less exhausted troops from the rear ranks would be faster.
The other important thing is that the fighters were not professional warriors and it is easier to keep a block together than a longer line. The other is that in a mass you feel safer and have better morale. In a 3 or 4 rank line someone in the front rank finds it easier to flee and weakens that part of the line. From my personal reenactment experience (dark ages ) from being in a wedge against a shield wall, the men front would find it almost impossible to flee. You step forward to avoid falling and you are lifted along with the pressure from behind.
And lastly if you a have greater mass at the point of impact you can smash through a thinner formation, but you don’t want to be to deep as then you’d be outflanked. The ten deep formation was the “standard” but there have been accounts with 40 deep phalanx as a fist to smash through.
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