U would need AT LEAST 15+ villager before going to heroic (most people have much more) going to classical that fast doesnt' really help, because u won't have the resource to build an army let alone sustain them.... and 2 or 3 hoplite won't even beat 5 villagers
Like other ppl said.. try to aim at least for 20 vill before going classical, (more is preferred though if ur Ra 20 is probably enough...)
Another hint others probably havn't meantioned yet is choosing what tech to go for, usually... the only tech u want to research in the first age is maybe Husbandry or Hunting dog, depend on map, excluding mediterrnian I think most other maps usually have enough hunting to make researching dogs worthwhile, hunting with the upgrade is much faster than farming until at least the 2nd or even 3rd upgrade... (try not to farm until most safe natural resource around u dry out is a good way to save some resourece too) if the map is like anatolia where u get a lot of sheeps ... research husbandry early on is good (u probbaly want to research this tech eventrually anyway as it somewhat improve ur food gathering for everythign although much more for herding)
While ur advancing to classical, most people research the first wood and gold upgrade, but the second and 3rd usually isn't needed until well into heroic... (or even mythic depends on ur vill pop and style etc..)
Remember that unless u have say 10+ vill on a particular resource gathering... researching a tech usually isn't as worthwhile as going for a few more villagers.