Giambattisto Vico inspired the beginning of Hermeneutics and developed a theory that all interpretation is rooted in a historical context. For Vico, all history existed not only in the past but also as a connection to the language of the past. For instance, if you were attempting to understand the place of Hermes in the Greek pantheon, you would have to understand the historical need for Hermes, his place in their mythology as well as the language used to describe him. The word messenger to a modern reader may bring images of a mailman but to an ancient Greek, the word messenger meant a connection to the world, translator from foreign lands and someone with a universal understanding.
Friedrich Schleiermacher taught the Hermeneutic ideal during the Romantic period, establishing his own addition to the ideology by explaining that you should never take your understanding of another culture or time for granted. Ideas that seem familiar or attainable, are not. As an example, the perception of Hermes may bring you images of a news reporter, professional translator and a philosopher or spiritual adviser. While these images help you understand his significance, these images are not accurate to his actual historical place. People envision the past through a modern perspective.
Martin Heidegger continued evolving an understanding of Hermeneutics by contrasting previous stages and suggesting that interpretation is a form of dasein, being. For Heidegger, you interpret by gathering more and more information about your subject, recreating that world for yourself. For instance, the process of understanding Hermes' place in Greek thought would require you to gather enough information about ancient Greece to recreate this world for yourself. Heidegger understood this task to be essentially existential.
Hans-Georg Gadamer, the student of Heidegger, focused his ideas on the nature of language, believing that humans are beings that exist as language. The person thinks in language, expresses through language and leaves language as a legacy. For Gadamer, this important distinction connects the Romantic stage of Hermeneutics to the Ontological stage. Gadamer noticed that while the interpreter moves to the past, seeking understanding, history moves toward the interpreter. As an example, the stories of Hermes are enduring and have survived for more than two millennia. Gadamer believed that this would not have been possible unless the language of these stories had its own transitive and mobile force. This becomes Gadamer's paradigm, stating that as the interpreter moves toward understanding, the subject moves toward being understood, like a traveler looking for the point where the sky meets the horizon.