I don't quite buy it. There's a line in Herodotus' Histories about Persian arrows blocking out the sun, and that implies a volley to me.
I don't have time to find a link now but if you google it you'll see.
(Incidentally, it's also in the movie 300)
I don't have time to find a link now but if you google it you'll see.
(Incidentally, it's also in the movie 300)
If you don't have it, you could try to do the math yourself. Munroe assumes that 1) an arrow intercepts 40 cm² of sunlight, 2) an archer looses 8 to 10 arrows a minute and 3) each arrow spends an average of three seconds in flight. You could adjust those numbers to taste, but I would not expect the conclusion to change.