Greek Psiloi

Summary
Psiloi are cheap missile infantry available to the Greek faction group. They are a basic missile unit available from the start of the game, with a relatively long-ranged attack and decent missile damage but no capacity for melee combat.

"Conscripted from the poor or the slaves, the psiloi are light ranged troops with basic ranged weaponry and little to no defenses. Their ability to harass from a distance and move quickly across the battlefield can be helpful, but they need to avoid melee combat."

- In-game Description

History
Psiloi were very light missile infantry troops drafted from the lowest ranks of ancient Greek society. They were deployed ahead of the hoplite phalanx as skirmishers to harass the enemy and try to disrupt their cohesion before the main clash, and to protect their own hoplites from enemy skirmishers if they attempted to do the same.

Psiloi fought with a variety of weapons, including the slings and javelins with which they're depicted in-game, but some also used bows while others lacked proper weaponry altogether and simply threw stones at the enemy.

Tactics
Psiloi are a basic missile brigade of the Greek faction group available from the start of the game. They deal less damage than Greek Peltasts which are also available from the start of the game, but are significantly cheaper in gold and have a slightly longer range. Nonetheless, the Peltasts' higher missile damage, improved defenses and capacity for melee combat make them a preferable choice to psiloi in many situations.

Psiloi are very useful as city garrisons thanks to their low gold cost and relatively high brigade size.

Compared to other early-game missile brigades, Psiloi outrange Leves and Axemen and are cheaper in gold but sacrifice a bit of missile damage on a per-unit basis (though the overall missile damage output of the group is the same, thanks to the psiloi's higher brigade size) and are incapable of melee combat. The same holds true when compared to Gallic Javelineers and Peltasts, which are stronger but more expensive than Leves. Psiloi have a higher damage output than Illyric and Gallic Slingers, but require more recruits and have slightly worse defenses.