Then EB isn't the right mod I suppose...It's aimed for maximum realism, and even one hour for an actual battle is short compared to ancient battles.
Unit HP won't really help to speed things a little up; for instance your phalanxes aren't protected by high hitpoint values, but by their formation and armour... It's all balanced, believe me. You can't hope to win if you don't use tactics (especially for those bloody phalanxes of yours )

The EB team probably won't make another version for a more excited gameplay; there are mods enough to do that (can't say I speak for the team though) I suppose EB will stick with it's own, addicted audience